


A Wonderful Fling to Be Flung

by Gamzee_Makaraoni, TailsDoll13 (Gamzee_Makaraoni)



Series: A Wonderful Fling to Be Flung [1]
Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Young Avengers
Genre: Adopted Children, Bonding, Canon-Typical Violence, Falling In Love, Family, Flashbacks, Friendship, Gay, M/M, Marriage, Other, Panic Attacks, Past Brainwashing, Same-Sex Marriage, Serious Injuries, Slow Burn, Time Skips, WinterHawk Big Bang, bucky needs to thank that game for his relationship, pikachu helped him realize that hes gay, super smash bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 12:05:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7933999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamzee_Makaraoni/pseuds/Gamzee_Makaraoni, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamzee_Makaraoni/pseuds/TailsDoll13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once Bucky had regained his memories, he didn’t expect anyone to be kind to him. Nobody in the Tower would talk to him, and HYDRA was still fighting to get their Asset. Why did Steve even bother to bring him back?<br/>Then Bucky runs into Clint, and slowly, things change.</p><p>-</p><p>Clint and Bucky’s relationship over the course of ten years. (Winterhawk Big Bang 2016.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Wonderful Fling to Be Flung

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is the second thing I’ve ever written set in the Marvel Universe, so I may make some errors. This is actually my first time writing a lot of the characters in this, and I apologize if anyone is OOC.  
> Huge thanks to accept-nothing on tumblr for being my beta!  
> The artist I was paired with was skylarkeverson. I'll be adding a link to her art in a few days.  
> A few notes:  
> There’s a lot of time-skipping in this. Every section is set a year apart from the sections preceding and following it. So people will be acting very differently in different sections.  
> The title is based on a lyric from Frank Sinatra’s “You Make Me Feel So Young.”  
> The Super Smash Bros incident in this is based on a real-life incident from a few years ago.  
> Jane and Scott are the only straight people in the Tower I have no regrets.

_August 23 rd, 2014_

Bucky didn’t like the Tower.

He didn’t have a problem with the actual building. It was an incredible feat of engineering, with personalized rooms and inventions that he could hardly believe existed. It reminded him of Howard and the expositions-or what he could remember of them, at least. He couldn’t tell real memories from the fabrications of his mind.

So no, it wasn’t the Tower that bothered him. It was the people.

Steve could deny it until he was blue in the face, but Bucky knew that not everyone trusted him enough to believe he wouldn’t snap and throttle them all. Natalia-Natasha, his mind corrected-had a dark history that he had been a significant part of. Tony brought up schematics for a new arm whenever they talked, which was starting to grate his nerves. Although Bucky wanted to get rid of the red star on his arm, he didn’t want Tony to accidentally trigger residual programming; if he killed Howard’s son, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.

Sam never interacted with him unless Steve was there, and even then he would speak in short sentences. Wanda and Pietro would leave the room whenever he entered it, and Vision followed them. Bruce was also avoidant, but at least he seemed to avoid everyone, and wasn’t singling out Bucky. He understood Bruce’s intentions. He also didn’t trust himself to not hurt someone. At this point, Bucky was on better terms with FRIDAY than everyone else.

As for the rest, Bucky had yet to meet them. He had met Scott Lang in passing, but Scott had gone home to his own family. Thor was either off-world or visiting his girlfriend and her assistant. Black Panther (Bucky was pretty sure Tony was messing with him when he said there was a _king_ on the Avengers) was out in Africa. And Clint Barton seemed to be nocturnal, or even more avoidant than Bruce was. Sometimes there would be purple mugs in the kitchen sink, or the leftover pizza would disappear, and when Bucky asked the only answer he got was “That would be Clint.” But Bucky never had a direct encounter with the archer until two months after Steve had dragged him to the Tower.

The team had been called out on a mission. Steve had been reluctant to leave Bucky behind, and Bucky wished Steve could had stayed. He didn’t want to risk having another breakdown while everyone was gone again. The last time, Bucky had completely wrecked Steve’s room. Who knew what he would destroy this time?

Unfortunately, the situation the Avengers had to deal with down in South Carolina was steadily getting worse, and Steve had to go with them. Bucky knew Steve was stronger now, but his mind kept bringing up pictures of a skinny boy whose coughs shook his entire body. He couldn’t stay in Steve’s room. He had to get out.

Bucky thought everyone was gone, so he wasn’t expecting the stranger in the kitchen.

“Oh.” The man blinked at Bucky. He was tall, with dirty blonde hair sticking out in every direction, and light green eyes. He had muscular arms- _the arms of a trained archer_ , Bucky’s mind whispered-that were covered with Band-Aids. He wore a bright purple t-shirt that proclaimed “Welcome to the dark side, we have cookies.” In his hands, he held a bowl of popcorn. “I didn’t know anyone else was here.”

Bucky forced his hand to relax at his side. The stranger didn’t seem to want to fight him, so he probably wouldn’t need the knife in his boot. “I thought everyone was on the mission.”

“Nah, not me. I got a concussion on the last one, so I had to stay behind. Tasha said if I didn’t stay put, she would strangle me with my kneecaps, and I don’t want to know if I’m flexible enough to do that.”

Bucky found himself fighting down the urge to laugh. He couldn’t remember the last time he had actually laughed. “Tasha?”

“You know-Black Widow. Red hair, black jumpsuit, thighs that can kill men.”

If Bucky called Natasha by a nickname, she would put her Red Room training to good use on him. “She let you give her a nickname?”

“Yup.” The man seem unperturbed that _the Black Widow_ _herself_ allowed him to give her a nickname, and started walking out to the couch.

Bucky ran the information through his head. Natasha must be very close to this man, to allow him to give her a nickname. From the information he had been given about the team, there was only one member that Natasha was close to. “So, you are the Clint Barton I keep hearing about?”

“The one and only. Are you coming?”

“What?”

Clint stuck his head back in the kitchen. “Are you coming to watch a movie, or did you come down here to do something else?”

Bucky hadn’t come to the kitchen with anything to do in mind, except maybe to try keeping some food down. “…If you are fine with that.”

“Great!” Clint disappeared back into the living room, and Bucky followed. He sat gingerly on the edge of a chair, while Clint set the popcorn bowl on the table next to the couch. “Not a couch person?”

“I’m sorry?”

“There’s more than enough room for both of us on the couch. The chairs aren’t half as comfy.”

Bucky stared at Clint. Did he not recognize Bucky? His face had been plastered over the entire Internet and was on the front page of newspapers. “Do you not know who I am?”

Clint leveled Bucky with the most serious face Bucky had seen yet on the archer. “You’re Bucky Barnes, Steve’s old BFF, you were an assassin ‘til he brought you in. If you’re worried about hurting me, don’t be. I don’t think you’re gonna kill me, even with that wicked knife in your right boot.”

To say Bucky was shocked was an understatement. “How did you know?”

“They don’t call me Hawkeye for nothing. Also, you and Tasha aren’t the only trained assassins in this building.” Clint winked.

Bucky had seriously underestimated Clint. The files HYDRA had given him on the Avengers contained scant information about Hawkeye. Since he was the only one with no enhancements, the superiors had deemed that he would be an easy target to take down if needed. Apparently, that was far from the case.

Reluctantly, Bucky moved over to the couch. Clint smiled at him again, and he turned on the TV, which started playing a movie. It was about a haunted doll, and despite not understanding most of the references, he found it was a welcome break from worrying about Steve. He ended up getting lost in the story, though he had to admit he had seen worse than a murderous toy (he was worse, much worse than a doll).

The team returned when the credits started rolling. Clint got up to greet Natasha, and they walked out of the room while discussing the mission. Steve looked surprised to see Bucky out of his room. The rest of the team looked uneasy to see Bucky in the living room, however, and the feeling that nobody wanted him around intensified. “See you in your room,” Bucky muttered to Steve, and he slunk back to the elevators as the rest of the team started to talk amongst themselves.

Had Clint only invited him to the movie out of pity? It was the nicest way anyone in the Tower had treated him so far, but Bucky didn’t deserve anyone’s pity. Why was he still here?

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2015_

The stillness of the night granted Bucky a tranquility he couldn’t find during the day. Even though he had been at the Tower for over a year now and had strengthened his relationships with the rest of the Avengers, he still felt like he was suffocating when there was a lot of people in the room and his mind instinctively tried to keep track of all the different conversations without an objective in mind.

But in the middle of the night, most of the team was either sleeping or keeping to themselves in their quarters. The Tower was silent without people rushing from room to room. When Bucky had a particularly awful nightmare, he took comfort in padding quietly through the Tower, marveling at the silence that was absent during the day. Even if he ended up not sleeping again that night, the walk he took helped to ease his mind, reminding him that he was no longer in the clutches of HYDRA or fighting a terrible war. As his night wanderings continued, it didn’t take long for Bucky to discover that he wasn’t the only one partaking in the silence of the Tower at night.

Every Avenger had their night demons. Steve and Sam had dreams about the wars they had fought in. Tony had nightmares about the cave in Afghanistan. Bruce dreamed about the destruction caused by the Hulk. Natasha, Pietro, and Wanda relived the torture HYDRA had put them through. Clint dreamt of being under Loki’s control. Even Thor had bad dreams-after all, he was a god that had lived through millennia, and he had seen things that would drive humans mad.

They all had different coping methods-Steve would go to the gym and punch training bags until he wore himself out, while Bruce would brew tea and gaze out the window until the sun rose. Initially, when Bucky found someone else awake during the night, he would leave them alone. Then one night, Natasha offered him a cup of tea while soft Russian music played on the radio, and he stayed. They didn’t talk, but it was reassuring to have another human presence nearby.

Since then, Bucky stopped shying away from joining the others in the middle of the night. Seeing the others in such vulnerable states and allowing them to see him while he was vulnerable helped to ease the tension between him and most of the Avengers. Now Wanda would offer him a small wave in greeting, and Tony would talk with him about things other than the arm. It felt...good. It felt like something he hadn't had in decades. The quiet moments made him feel like he was understanding everyone a bit better.

The ones that Bucky treasured most, however, were the ones with Clint. He was the only one who understood what it was like to be forced to kill and not be able to stop yourself, and have to live with dreams where you kept shooting the people you loved over and over again. On the nights he ran into Clint, they would watch a movie on Clint's seemingly never-ending list of "movies that supersoldiers need to catch up on." Occasionally, Bucky found Clint in the range, shooting arrow after arrow at the targets, hearing aids lying on the table next to him. Bucky sometimes joined him with a rifle, but mostly he watched Clint shoot.

This was neither of those nights.

Bucky found Clint leaning against the window at 2am. He had wandered around the lower floors for an hour after a harrowing nightmare about having to murder a family, and decided to get some water before heading back to his room. The archer was sitting on the sill of the kitchen window, watching the rain slide down as he burrowed down into his huge purple blanket.

"Hey," Bucky greeted, but Clint didn't answer, despite having his aids in. Bucky didn’t say another word. Instead, he filled a kettle with water and set it to boil, before pulling out two packets of the chamomile tea and two mugs-one gray and one purple. When it was finished, he handed the purple one to Clint and sat next to him on the sill.

“Thanks,” Clint croaked after enough time had passed for Bucky’s tea to go lukewarm. “I know this isn’t usually what we do, but…”

“Rough night?” Bucky replied.

Clint nodded. “Yeah. My mind decided to hit me with a lot of bad shit tonight.”

Bucky would’ve asked if Clint wanted to talk about it, but they had agreed a long time ago that question sounded like something a therapist would say. Instead, he joined Clint in his silent watch over New York as the rain continued to pour. At some point, Bucky must have fallen asleep, because he woke up to the sun chasing away the dark blue of a cleared sky. Clint was gone, but his purple blanket was wrapped around Bucky, and the mugs were next to the sink, shiny and clean. When Bucky saw the archer later that day, he put his hand to his chin and lowered it-the sign for “Thank you.” Bucky made a curve with his hand from his mouth to his chest-the sign for “You’re welcome.” Clint smiled at that, and Bucky was glad that he got to see him in a better state than the night before.

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2016_

It took Bucky far too long to understand why Clint’s smiles made Bucky smile, and why Clint was the only one in the Tower who made his heart race when they touched or caught gazes.

The realization hit him one lazy August afternoon, when there wasn’t a call to assemble and most of the team was stateside. Darcy and Tony had challenged Clint and Sam to a round of Super Smash Bros Brawl, and along the way Bucky, Natasha, and Pepper had been roped into playing. The result was an unorganized tournament full of yelling and curses.

“C’mon, Sam!” Darcy yelled, mashing the buttons on her controller. On the screen, Pikachu moved accordingly to Darcy’s moves, leaping to avoid a blast from Bucky’s Samus. He bit his lip in concentration while dodging an electric bolt. “You can’t keep running around like a chicken!”

Sam yelped when Natasha landed a blow with Sheik, taking off a good chunk of Luigi’s health. “She keeps chasing me!” Natasha merely smirked while Pepper cheered her on.

“Ooh, if you throw the bomb right there, Natasha.” Luigi was blasted off the platform, and Pepper let out a triumphant laugh while Sam moaned. “Well done!”

“Thanks for the advice.” Natasha gave Pepper a quick kiss on the lips. Behind them, Clint stuck a finger in his mouth and mimed gagging, and Bucky turned his head before Natasha could see him laugh at Clint’s antics.

Bucky was really enjoying himself. He was surprisingly good at multiplayer battle games (Steve always got his ass kicked, but he excelled at video games that involved more strategy and puzzles) and it was fun to play them with the others. Even when he wasn’t the one holding the controller, he still got to cheer on whoever was playing, and laugh when Tony got defeated and dramatically mimicked his character’s death scene. The fictional battles helped to take his mind off the real ones they were fighting.

“Who’s the chicken now, Darcy?!” Sam shouted as Darcy squealed, jumping Pikachu up the blocks hanging in the air while Luigi chased. Natasha switched from fighting Luigi to fighting Samus, and Bucky had a difficult time trying to land a blow.

What broke his concentration was a shriek from Darcy. “Sam! Oh my god! Someone take a picture-that’s perfect!” Bucky took his eyes off his character to see what Darcy was talking about, and he started to laugh.

While Samus and Sheik were exchanging blows, Pikachu and Luigi were leaping around the other parts of the map. Sam apparently decided to throw a sticky bomb, which landed perfectly on Pikachu’s butt.

“Holy _shit_ ,” Sam gasped out between laughs. “It’s the most perfect move I’ve ever made.”

“Darcy, pause and zoom in,” Tony instructed, his eyes twinkling as he held up a phone. Darcy did just that, and the sight of the sticky bomb attached to Pikachu’s butt made everyone laugh even harder. Tony had to sit down on the floor before he fell over from laughing.

Bucky twisted his head around to look at Clint behind the couch. The archer’s face was turning red, tears rolling down his cheeks while he guffawed. It wasn’t unusual to see him laugh, but it was the hardest that Bucky had ever seen him laugh. He looked beautiful like that, with mirth painted all over his face-

Wait.

_Beautiful?_

Bucky’s laughter died down as the information hit him. He thought Clint was beautiful. He had looked away just to see Clint’s reaction, and was greeted with a sight that made his heart pound. Heat rose up Bucky’s cheeks, and he knew that he wasn’t flushed from laughter.

“Excuse me, I need to go and-and do something. Pepper can play,” Bucky stammered, throwing the controller up on the couch next to Pepper before speedwalking out of the room. If Pepper had heard him, he didn’t know. He just needed to get somewhere and think.

He headed for the elevators, grateful that he didn’t encounter anybody on his way there. Bucky wasn’t sure he could cover up why he was blushing. “FRIDAY?”

“ _Yes, Sergeant Barnes._ ” The AI’s voice was cool. If she had picked up on anything, she didn’t let it show. (And she probably had noticed Bucky’s increased heart rate. Tony had her monitoring every living thing in the Tower, down to the pigeons on the roof.)

“Can you take me to my floor, please?”

“ _Of course._ ” The doors slid open and Bucky stepped inside. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until the doors closed and he starting moving down, alone.

“ _Is everything alright? I noticed that your heart rate increased in the media room, and your body temperature increased as well. Are you falling ill?_ ”

“No, FRIDAY. It’s just-it’s nothing, really.”

“ _If you’re sure._ ”

The elevator dinged when it reached his floor. Bucky muttered a “Thank you” as he stepped out, crossing over to the door. He punched in the access code with shaking fingers. When the doors open, he slid in and made his way to his couch.

His room wasn’t really worth describing. The Bucky of the past may have taped photos of pinup girls to the walls, or photos ripped out of newspapers and old books of countries and places he wanted to visit (And ironically, he had seen most of those places, thanks to HYDRA). But this Bucky kept his walls dark green and clean. It helped when he came out of a nightmare or panic attack to not be surrounding by distractions. All he had was a couch and TV in the living area, a kitchenette that he didn’t use often, and a bedroom with a bed and a bookcase littered with a few books he had been recommended to read to help catch up on pop culture.

Bucky sank down heavily on his bed, running a hand over his face. He should have expected that being in such close proximity with multiple people would have led to him developing affections for someone. But he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, and he certainly hadn’t felt this way for someone in decades. The memories of his past flings raced through his mind in a blur-There was Jenny, asking for just one more dance before Bucky took her home, and Private Eric Koenig, a bright-eyed boy who wanted to make them work even if they were in a war, before the bullet struck his head.

He wasn’t shocked at having a crush on a man. Bucky had regained enough of his memories to remember that he had been just as attracted to men as he was to ladies, even if back then the closest he had to a relationship with another man was stolen kisses in dark alleyways or getting rid of sexual frustration with another soldier. His work with HYDRA also exposed him to the modern world, so he was somewhat aware of the changes happening. Poor Steve had been thrust into 2012 without realizing seventy years had passed him by.

Speaking of which, Bucky knew nobody on the team would shame him for his feelings-almost none of the Avengers were straight. Steve had shocked most of the world when he had dipped Tony into a kiss after a difficult battle (how the press didn’t pick up on their relationship for two years, Bucky had no idea), and Tony had yelled for weeks about making “the entire Republican party shit a brick.” Natasha and Pepper were a more recent item, but it was obvious from the way Natasha’s eyes lit up when Pepper entered the room that she was working past the walls put up by the assassin. There was an ongoing bet about when Sam and T’Challa would finally admit their feelings for each other.

Closer to home, Thor and Jane were both hitting on Bruce, who hilariously had yet to realize that they had been flirting with him for the past two months. When asked once about how intimate she got with Vision, Wanda stated that she was asexual, and when Pietro was asked if he and his sister had the same sexuality, he answered with “I’m too fast for labels” before running off (Tony then had a press conference reminding reporters that just because the twins were now 18 didn’t give them the right to start asking intrusive questions like that). Darcy had shared stories about all of her exes, who were all different genders. Scott was pretty much the only straight one, which he constantly joked about.

It wasn’t the idea of being shamed for his sexuality that scared Bucky off from trying to date Clint, it was the fact that it would never work out.

Bucky was a murderer. Even if someone else wanted the target dead, Bucky was still the one who had pulled the trigger. He was the one that had killed people in cold blood with no emotion, who slaughtered children and people unable to fight back. He was the one whose ledger was so full of red that it was oozing, the ink pooling like blood on the floor (or was the ink actually blood?). None of the HYDRA officials had dirtied their hands with the blood of Bucky’s victims, but he had. Just because the weapon wasn’t originally intended for murder doesn’t mean it wasn’t part of committing the crime. Clint was also an assassin, but he worked for the good side, targeting those that had committed actual crimes. Bucky killed innocent people-who wanted to date a murderer?

Even if the red in his ledger didn’t scare Clint away, Bucky was still recovering from what HYDRA had done to him. He had panic attacks and nightmares where he lost control. When he and Steve had shared a floor, Bucky would wake him up with his screams, and when the Winter Soldier woke up to see Captain America leaning over him, protocol kicked in and Steve would barely be able to hold Bucky back. Then he’d actually wake up to find his best friend bruised and bleeding, knowing he was the reason why. It was part of why he was glad Steve finally moved in with Tony. No matter how often Steve tried to convince him otherwise, Bucky knew he was the reason for those marks.

He laughed bitterly to himself, running his flesh fingers through his hair. If it ever got to the point where Clint and him shared a bed…

Clint may be one of the best agents SHIELD had ever seen, but in the end he was the only non-enhanced human on the team, and the most likely to get hurt with no chance of recovering. If Steve couldn’t hold Bucky back when he had a nightmare, Clint certainly wouldn’t be able to. Bucky could accidentally kill Clint in his sleep, and if he woke up to find him dead…

Oh god, Bucky could _kill_ Clint. He could wake up one morning to find the archer with a snapped neck, body long gone cold. He could wake up to blood dripping down from fingers frozen in a desperate plea. It would be so easy for something to set the Asset off, for him to mistake Clint as the enemy, and to slaughter him in cold blood. Just the thought of being the reason why Clint died made bile rise up Bucky’s throat.

But really, he was just getting ahead of himself. There was no way Clint would agree to dating someone that could murder him. He was a smart man, smarter than the world gave him credit for. Clint wouldn’t risk letting his guard down in front of a man that was once the world’s most ruthless killing machine, and that could very easily turn back into that machine. He deserved someone better.

Bucky slid slowly to the floor, his breathing picking up pace. A murderer didn’t deserve love. A murderer deserved punishment for their wickedness. No one mourns the wicked, for they didn’t deserve such kindness. And Bucky was a murderer. He was a wicked person with blood on his hand and no heart in his body. Even if he had feelings, they didn’t matter. A murderer’s feelings never mattered.

_“It does not matter what you think. You are to kill, and kill only. What you feel is not relevant to the mission.”_

“No,” he choked out, trying to fight off the flashback already stirring. “No, I don’t want to!”

 _A woman tutted at him, standing over his electric chair. “You don’t want to go on missions? How adorable. Pierce, you better have something that actually works. We don’t need a damn Asset with_ feelings, _that’ll be a lot of paperwork.”_

“Please…Please, don’t do this.” Bucky’s voice cracked. “Where’s Steve? Where’s Clint? Where’s the team?”

_“I’m with you ‘til the end of the line,” Steve gasped. His face was bruised and bloody, and even with the carrier crashing around them, he was smiling. The Asset’s next punch knocked it off his face._

_“Зимний солдат,” Natasha gasped. **The Winter Soldier.** This rogue spider was scared of him. She knew she couldn’t take down the Asset. He offered her a smile that had no real warmth behind it, then pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through her leg that ripped out the other side into the scientist she was meant to protect. _

“Bucky? Where are you, man?”

_Wanda collapsed on the ground, her head smacking against the concrete. Pietro screamed. “Wanda! Vă rugăm să opriţi, I trebuie să o ajute!” **Wanda! Please stop, I must help her!** The Asset looked at his handler, who shook his head. The guards dragged her across the floor as he continued shooting, until Pietro himself collapsed from trying to dodge the bullets._

“FRIDAY said you…Oh, no.”

_“What, you couldn’t kill Howard Stark? How pathetic. I thought we got rid of all of his feelings.” Dietlinde Eckhart sneered at the Asset (Bucky? Soldier? James? Sergeant?). “Send another agent. The Soldier needs more time in the chair.” The Asset couldn’t tell what his name was, but he knew that the screams filling the air were his._

“Hey man, can you hear me?”

_Faces flickered through his mind. Some he recognized from the Internet, some he didn’t, but he knew the one thing they had in common-they were his victims._

“Bucky?”

_His victims._

_His missions._

_His mission his mission his mission what was his mission what was his mission whatwashismissionwhatwashismissionwhatwashis-_

“James?”

The use of his first name snapped Bucky out of his mind, like a bucket of cold water. Gasping, he lurched back against his bed, breathing heavily. “Oh god, oh god,” he whispered, bringing his hands up to his temples.

“FRIDAY said you were having an attack.”

Bucky looked up and oh, the world decided it still needed to laugh at him. Clint sat in front of him, hands resting on his knees in a calm manner. Bucky didn’t know whether to relax or run away, and his breathing picked back up.

“Hey, hey. It’s alright.” Clint raised his hands up. “Can I touch you?”

Bucky nodded weakly. He needed to know that this was the real Clint and his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. He needed human contact to confirm that he was real.

“Alright, I’m going to make sure you don’t tear your hair out.” Clint wrapped his hands gently around Bucky’s wrists, slowly lowering them. “Breathe with me, buddy. Inhale…” He took in a breath. “Exhale.” Air blew out of his mouth. “Can you do that?”

Bucky did try, but the first exhale turned into hyperventilation. God, how could Clint be so kind to him, knowing what he had done? Knowing that Bucky was a monster?

“Shit. Okay, let’s try again. Inhale-“

“I could hurt you,” Bucky croaked.

Clint raised an eyebrow. “You’re not hurting me right now.”

“I could!” Bucky ripped his hands out of Clint’s. “I could kill anyone in this Tower! I nearly killed Natasha and the twins, and-and Steve…” Wanda’s unconscious body swam through his memory, and he buried his face in his hands. “I’m a murderer. I don’t-I can’t-“

Arms wrapped around him, and it took Bucky a minute to realize Clint was hugging him. That was all it took for him to break. He started to cry, wrapping his fingers in the fabric of Clint’s shirt. And Clint just held him, rubbing circles on his back and muttering things in his ear, not making Bucky feel bad for breaking down in front of him. They sat there for what felt like hours as he cried out his frustrations.

Bucky must have cried himself to sleep, because he woke up tangled in his own sheets. FRIDAY’s voice chimed while he sat up groggily. “ _Good afternoon, Sergeant Barnes. The time is 5:27 pm. All of the Tower’s residents are currently in various areas of the building. There has not been an emergency of any kind during your rest. I trust you had a pleasant nap?_ ”

“Yeah.” He licked his lips. “Is Clint…?”

“ _When you fell asleep, Agent Barton deposited you in your bed. He told me to tell you that he hopes you are feeling better now, and if you still need some cheering up, he has queued up the first episode of Voltron: Legendary Defenders on Netflix for you. He believes that you will enjoy it._ ”

“I’ll have to thank him next time I see him,” Bucky muttered. “I guess I’ll watch whatever silly show he wants me to get sucked into, then.”

“ _I shall inform him that you are doing much better now._ ”

Wrapping himself in a blanket, Bucky padded over to his couch. The TV flickered to life, and opening music played. Soon Bucky was lost in the world of Paladins and robot lions, his worries of earlier far from his mind.

It wasn’t until he saw Clint the next day, when Clint looked up with a smirk and asked him what he thought of Shiro, that he remembered the feelings in his chest. Maybe if he ignored them, they’d go away.

Maybe.

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2017_

Having an arrow pointed at his face was not how Bucky wanted to start his day.

“Who the hell are you?” The girl holding said arrow demanded. She had shiny black hair pushed back by a purple headband that matched her jumpsuit, and almond-shaped eyes narrowed in suspicion. Something about her nagged at his mind. Despite having never met her before, he could see Clint in the way she held her stance-Clint would lean hard on his back leg when he was shooting, and the girl was doing the same. She also looked familiar, but he couldn’t place her face.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same question.” He thumped the side of Clint’s ancient coffee machine. It was too early in the morning to be interrogated by archer girls in purple.

“I’ve never seen you here.”

“I’ve never seen you here, either.”

The girl lowered her bow, before catching herself and raising it back up. “You’ve been here before? In Clint’s apartment?”

“Yes.” Seriously, where did he know her from?

“What the fuck? I’ve never-“

An excited bark cut off the girl, and Clint’s dog barreled into the room. The girl immediately dropped her weapons on the counter and crouched down. “Lucky! Here boy, here!” Lucky was all too happy to oblige, nearly knocking her over with affectionate kisses. Bucky couldn’t help a smile when Lucky finally turned away and trotted over to him, tail wagging as he looked up expectantly.

“Thanks for not waking me up with your cold nose again,” he said, bending down to scratch Lucky behind the ears. Lucky panted excitedly.

“Alright, you’re not dangerous then. Lucky trusts you.”

Bucky looked up at the girl, who had hopped up on the counter. “You trust me because the dog does?”

“That dog is fiercely protective of Clint. Probably because no Clint means no pizza.”

The coffee machine let out a ding, and Bucky sighed in relief. He grabbed the pot and started pouring coffee in Clint’s outlandish Darth Vader mug and the Captain America mug Sam had gotten Bucky as a joke on his birthday. “Since you’re not trying to kill me anymore, I suppose I should ask if you want any coffee.”

The girl whined. “Oh, _god_ yes. Can my girlfriend have a cup of coffee too?”

“Does Clint know her?”

“Yeah, I’ll go get her. My mug’s the orange one with the Percy Jackson quote. America doesn’t have her own mug here yet, so just pull one out.” She jumped off the counter and jogged towards the door. Bucky blinked. That girl moved fast.

The first girl walked in, followed by a second one who gave Bucky a nod and a “Yo.” She wasn’t all decked out in superhero gear, wearing black athletic shorts with a gray and red jacket instead. Her dark curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail, exposing the golden hoops dangling from her ears that danced reflections of light across her creamy skin. Bucky handed the two girls their mugs. The first one happily guzzled it down, while the second one took a careful sip.

“I suppose I should introduce myself,” the first girl said. “I’m Kate Bishop, and this is America Chavez.” America nodded when her name was called, eyes closed as she nursed her coffee.

“Kate…” _Now_ he knew where he recognized her from. Clint had shown him many pictures of him and Kate, promising to introduce them once he got the chance. “You’re the other Hawkeye?”

Kate pointed at him. “You,” she said, “are the first person to not call me Clint’s sidekick or Lady Hawkeye when meeting me. I like you.”

“I think he’s too old for the Young Avengers, Princess,” America said. Kate made a face behind her mug.

Bucky laughed. “Sorry, I’m too caught up in Avengers business to join any more teams.”

“Are you that guy who’s Captain America’s BFF?”

“Uh, you could say that.”

“Clint’s been pining over you for ages.”

Bucky nearly choked on his coffee.

“Yeah, he’s not the type to outright show his feelings, and he plays it off a lot. But I’m getting tired of him making heart eyes every time I see him outside of the Tower. He’ll kill me for telling you this, but he won’t make a move, so…” Kate shrugged.

Clint chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. His hair was even more of a mess than usual, sticking up like he had been shocked. There was dried spit in the corner of his mouth, and his Band-Aids were close to falling off. Clearly not how most people would look with company present, but at least Clint decided to pull on sweatpants and his hearing aids instead of just waltzing out in his underwear or stark naked. He leaned down to give Lucky a scratch behind the ears before he turned to Bucky.

“Coffee,” Clint grunted, making grabby hands at Bucky. He just sighed and handed the mug to his boyfriend, knowing that Clint wouldn’t be functional until he had at least one cup. Kate and America seemed to be aware of that fact as well, since they stayed silent while Clint gulped down his coffee.

“Sleep well?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah. God, you’re the greatest, babe,” Clint groaned as he nuzzled his face in Bucky’s hair. “Forget what Folger’s says, you’re the best part of waking up.”

While Bucky loved how affectionate a half-asleep Clint was, he was hyperaware of the fact that they weren’t alone. Kate stared at Clint with an unreadable expression, and America smirked behind her mug.

“No hello for me?” Kate finally asked.

Now it was Clint’s turn to choke on his coffee. Bucky thumped him on the back while Clint tried to avoid coughing up a lung. “Kate? America?” he wheezed. “What’re you guys doing here?”

“Princess wanted to drop in and say hello, so I went with. Nice hair, Barton,” America greeted.

Clint buried his face in his hands. “Oh my god, I’m half-naked in front of two teenage girls.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Please, I’ve seen worse than a shirtless white guy. So how long have you and Bucky been dating?”

Clint scratched his chin. “Five months this Sunday, right?”

Bucky counted the dates in his head before nodding. “Yeah, that sounds right.”

“You two have been dating for five months.” Kate’s smile was sugary sweet, and Bucky understood why America was laughing behind her mug.

“Yeah.”

“Well, congratulations are in order, since I kind of didn’t know until this morning.”

Clint’s eyes widened. “Shit. Look, Kate, I was gonna tell you-“

“Five months?!” Kate threw her hands up in the air. Lucky sat up and panted, before whining when he realized Kate wasn’t throwing food. “Did you not stop and realize, ‘Oh hey, I should call Kate and let her know that my love life isn’t a car crash anymore?!’”

“You were away for two months! I couldn’t reach you! And this summer was full of bad guys-I lost a hundred and thirty of my arrows. Including my favorite dart arrow!”

“A relationship is important to mention! I thought Bucky was a robber!”

“I know his hair gives off that serial killer vibe, but-“

“Don’t bring my hair into this,” Bucky interrupted. “And you love to pull on it, Clint, don’t deny that you like it.”

Clint sighed. “Got me there.”

“Ew!” Kate gagged. “That’s more than I ever needed to know about your sex life.” America laughed, and Kate spun herself around on the counter. “Don’t laugh at me! This is like hearing your moms talk about their sex lives.”

America groaned, thumping her head on the counter. “Oh my god, Katie. I’m gonna have to punch through so many dimensions to get that out of my head now.”

“I have no sympathy for you, America.”

“It’s like Tony and Steve,” Bucky muttered, talking one last gulp of his coffee. “They show affection using insults.”

Clint hummed, scratching at his nose where the Band-Aid was peeling off. “I can see the parallels. Let’s never get all four of them in the same room?”

“Agreed.”

A beeping cut through the air, making everyone jump. America held up her watch, which was starting to glow blue. “I’d love to stay and chat, but it looks like we gotta go save our friends’ asses.”

“Come on, I didn’t get a chance to tease Clint yet,” Kate grumbled, setting her mug on the counter. She crossed over to Clint and gave him a hug, then turned to Bucky. “Be good to him. Same for you, Barton, otherwise I’ll come over to smack the idiot out of you.”

“Sorry, Clint’s pure idiot,” Bucky replied.

Clint pouted. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Where’s your source?”

Kate laughed.

“Hey Princess, we gotta get going,” America called. She gave Bucky and Clint a smirk. “See you two around.”

“Later, America,” Clint waved.

Kate walked up to America’s side and gave her a kiss on the cheek. America smiled at her, before turning around and-was she punching the air?

Bucky’s jaw went slack as the air ripped open into a glowing blue vortex. America gave a salute as she walked into it, Kate following behind her. They disappeared, and the vortex closed with a flash. He looked from where the girls had just stood to Clint, hoping for an explanation.

Clint slurped his coffee. “Oh, yeah. America can punch holes into other dimensions,” he stated, like he was talking about the weather.

Bucky spluttered. “She can punch-what the hell, Clint?!”

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2018_

“You know you can’t avoid everyone forever. Why don’t you come out for a bit?”

Bucky didn’t respond to Steve. He could damn well avoid the other residents of the Tower. Even if he couldn’t, he’d be going out on another mission in a few days. Nobody would be able to bother him then.

Steve sighed, his footsteps thudding against the ground as he left the doorway. Bucky didn’t take his face out of his pillow when his bed dipped down with Steve’s added weight. He had perfected the art of ignoring Steve Rogers long before Captain America had come around.

“Everyone’s worried. T’Challa and Scott are visiting and they’re asking where you are. Pietro misses his Just Dance partner. Tony keeps making bad Terminator references. Darcy says she’s going to bring her girlfriend over so everyone can meet her. Clint-“

Bucky’s shoulders tensed up, and he growled in the back of his throat. He didn’t want to even hear Clint’s name, much less hear about what that asshole was doing.

Steve realized his mistake, and he placed a hand on Bucky’s back, pulling back when Bucky flinched away. “Sorry. Just…Please, Bucky. It’s not healthy to lock yourself away like this. At least consider leaving your room for a while. Okay?”

He didn’t respond. Steve sat there a moment longer, like he wanted to keep talking, but he finally got up off the bed. The door slid shut as he left the room, leaving Bucky in silence for a few minutes longer.

“He’s right, you know.”

“Oh my god,” Bucky moaned. Natasha’s sudden appearance didn’t surprise him; he was too used to her silent approaches. If anything, it just pissed him off. He sat up and gave her his best Winter Soldier glare. “Can everyone just leave me alone for one goddamn day?”

Natasha just raised an eyebrow at him, unfazed. She had cut her hair short again, so it fell in soft curls around her face. Her emerald eyes pierced into him, reminding him of another set of green eyes that he-

No. Clint didn’t want anything to do with him, and Bucky didn’t want anything to do with Clint.

“What, I can’t talk with the boyfriend of my best friend? That’s harsh, Bucky. After all we’ve been through together?”

Bucky hunched his shoulders. “Don’t mention him.”

Natasha’s eyes softened, and she sat next to him on the bed. “You know neither of you meant half the things you said.”

“You don’t know that. He probably _does_ think that I’m weak for not breaking through HYDRA’s control sooner.” Bucky laughed bitterly and ran a hand through his hair. “And he’s right. I am weak for that.”

“You’re not weak for that. You’re strong for withstanding it for so long, and Clint knows that. He’s just an idiot. And so are you. You’re perfect for each other.”

Bucky held up a hand to cut her off. “I don’t-I can’t apologize to him yet. Not when I feel like I’m going to punch him in the face the next time I see him.”

Natasha pursed her lips together, but she nodded. “You shouldn’t be brooding over this in your room all day though. Wanda, Pietro, and Vision are watching Parks and Recreation in the media room. Go join them. Get your mind off of things and enjoy yourself.”

“Will anyone else be there?”

“Pepper and I might stop by, if I can get her to take a break. Bruce and Jane promised to join later, and Scott wants to join. Head on down, I’ll see you there.”

It wasn’t until he was halfway to the elevator that Bucky realized Natasha had convinced him to leave his room, when Steve had failed to. Ah, well. She wouldn’t be Black Widow if she wasn’t good at what she did.

When he stepped into the media room, it was already darkened. The screen was paused on a blonde woman mid-shout. Wanda glanced up from the microwave and grinned. “Hello, Bucky! Are you here to watch Parks and Recreation with us?” At her words, Pietro and Vision turned in their seats to greet Bucky. To think that just four years ago, the three of them couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as him.

“Yeah. You guys aren’t too far into the show, are you?”

“No. We had gotten halfway through episode one before Wanda decided that we needed snacks,” Vision explained. “The fridge was replenished yesterday, so grab whichever drink you need.”

“Thanks.” Bucky crossed over to the fridge and opened it. “You guys need anything from here?” He got a chorus of “No’s.”

“This show is quite funny. I cannot believe that this is how the government works. How do they get anything done?” Pietro commented. Bucky bit back a comment on how that wasn’t really how they worked as he browsed the drinks. Seeing how lazy the Capitol could be, the show was probably an accurate representation. “Bucky, were you aware that Starlord is in this show?”

“What? No way.” Bucky finally decided on a beer, popping the cap off and taking a swig. “Didn’t he do that Jurassic World gig a while back?”

“Pietro,” Vision chided, “You know that is not Peter Quill. It is just Chris Pratt, the actor that bears a resemblance to him.”

“They look exactly alike! Either Chris Pratt and Peter Quill are the same person, or they are twins separated at birth!”

“They do not have the same birthday, nor the same age. I highly doubt they are related, much less one and the same.”

The dinging of the microwave interrupted the brewing argument. Bucky helped Wanda pour the popcorn into the bowls, before bringing them over to where Vision and Pietro sat. Wanda curled up in the seat Vision was in, and Bucky sat on the one in front of them.

“Does anyone need the bathroom before we start?” Wanda asked.

“Yes.”

“Alright, Vis-Wait a second.” She turned to give the android a look. “You don’t need to use the bathroom!”

Vision chuckled. “Of course not, I was just messing with you.” Wanda smacked his shoulder playfully before giving him a kiss on the cheek, and Pietro made a face in his seat next to them. The sight of them made Bucky’s stomach flip. Their banter was just like-

No. He wasn’t going to dwell on the past. He was here to get his mind off of that.

Wanda seemed to have picked up on Bucky’s discomfort, because she gave him a soft smile. But she didn’t say anything, bless her heart, and pressed play on the show.

Bucky soon got lost in the tale of Leslie Knope and her determination to turn a ditch into the best park the town had ever seen. Pepper and Natasha showed up halfway through episode four, and they settled down in the seat next to Bucky. Sam, T’Challa, and Scott joined in around season 2, and they had to pause the episode because Scott insisted on telling Bucky all about a new addition to his suit, “Since you didn’t hear me talk about it earlier!” Then they had to pause again because Darcy walked in with a short blonde girl in pink, who introduced herself as Nicole Garcia. She was apparently an intern at Stark Industries, so she had already met Pepper, Tony, and Natasha. She was quiet at first, until she realized they were watching Parks and Rec.

“Darcy! The Avengers watch my favorite show?” she gasped.

“We watch, like, everything Netflix and Amazon Prime has to offer. Which is a mess when season finales get uploaded. Remind me to tell you about the Game of Remotes incident later.”

“Oh, my god, I want to watch it with them!” Nicole blushed and looked around the room. “That is, if I’m not intruding.”

“Oh, no, you’re fine,” Scott assured her. “But if your drink gets switched out for another one, that’s Pietro’s fault.”

“Scott!” Pietro complained. “Don’t ruin my pranks before I do them!”

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!”

Nicole laughed, the tension in her shoulders easing. Darcy smiled at her and pulled her into a seat. “Jane and Bruce will be joining us shortly. They’re finishing up their…science.”

“Oh my god, please don’t.” Sam groaned. Darcy smirked at him.

“Where’s the rest of the team?” Nicole asked.

“Out fighting crime, not sure when they’re getting back. The only reason why most of the crew is here is because people are either benched or they have other business.”

The room finally settled down when Jane and Bruce arrived and curled up in the seat they usually shared with Thor. “Who has the remote?” Bruce asked.

“Me!” Wanda waved it in the air. “Come on, guys, I wanna get to season three tonight.”

Bucky liked nights like this. The team were all together to do the same thing, even if there were some side conversations. It made it feel less like a group of superheroes and more like a family. This most dysfunctional family in the world, maybe, but a family nonetheless. Here, he could forget about all of his troubles.

But he was never lucky for long.

“The rest of the team has finished their mission. Shall I alert Sir and the others to your current location?” FRIDAY asked during the opening of episode 12.

“Sure, sure,” Scott mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn. “Tell Stark not to make an entrance though, I don’t want him interrupting this.”

T’Challa groaned. “Now he _will_ make an entrance, just to spite you.”

“Nah, we’re bros. We got a bro code, and you don’t break a bro code.”

“Tch. Americans.”

The door slid open then, and that was all it took for Bucky’s few hours of peace to come crashing down.

“Hey, guys. I heard y’all were watching Parks and Rec, so I decided to-oh.”

Bucky whirled around in his seat to see Clint standing in the entryway. Clint, who was sweaty and bruised from the fight. Clint, who he had kissed and held and told so many of his dark and dirty secrets to. Clint, who Bucky had shoved out of his room and slammed the door in his face after screaming at him just a week ago.

At the sight of Bucky, Clint’s jaw tightened. “Never mind,” he mumbled, turning around to leave. The room had gone deathly silent.

Bucky didn’t want to make a scene in front of everyone, but he was still mad at Clint. “Oh, no, I was just leaving. Please, take a seat,” he snapped, getting up out of his seat and stalking off towards the entryway. Natasha was looking at him and shaking her head no, but he ignored her.

Clint crossed his arms and stared down at Bucky. “I don’t see what the deal is. There isn’t a door here that you can slam in my face, since you seem so fond of doing that. Is that how you shut people out of your life?”

Bucky froze where he stood. In the corner of his eye he saw Natasha and Wanda rising out of their seats. Jane was rubbing Bruce’s back to keep him calm. Pietro looked ready to bolt if needed. Clint’s brain seemed to catch up with his mouth, and he winced. “Shit, Bucky, I didn’t mean-“

“Oh, no, I know you didn’t mean that. Just like how you didn’t mean to call me a coward for not being strong enough to fight against HYDRA’s torture, right? Are all people who are brainwashed cowards, Clint?!”

Clint’s nostrils flared. “You’re not a fucking coward because of what HYDRA did, but because of how you treat me! You know the world’s changed, yet you won’t even hold my goddamn hand in public! It’s like you’re ashamed of me!”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to date a man that seems to base his relationships on how much affection his partner shows him! Not everyone is naturally affectionate!” Bucky threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. Clint flinched and stepped away from him, and guilt washed through Bucky as he remember what Clint had told him about his childhood. God, did Clint think Bucky was going to strike him? That was the last thing he wanted.

“ _Boys._ ” Natasha stepped up to them, pushing down Bucky’s arms. “Please, you need to talk through this.”

Bucky glared at Natasha. “I already told you. Not yet.” He pushed past her and stomped out the entryway to the elevator, refusing to look back at anyone in the media room-especially Clint.

Just as he pressed the button for his floor, Tony and Steve showed up, still in uniform. “We heard yelling. Did something break?” Tony asked. Then he looked from Clint in the entryway to Bucky glowering in the elevator. “Oh, Jesus.”

Steve ran a hand over his face and gave Bucky a pleading look. “Buck, please-“

Bucky flipped Steve off, repeatedly pressing the “close doors” button. Finally the elevator slid shut, and Bucky allowed himself to bury his face in his hands and cry.

He had been right, all those years ago. He and Clint would never work out.

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2019_

Bucky had just gotten to the part where Apollo and Meg had encountered the geyser spirit in the Trials of Apollo when a shadow loomed over the pages. He looked up to see Clint leaning over him, eyes twinkling and his hand stuck out towards him.

“May I have this dance, Sergeant?” he asked.

Music started to play, and Bucky snorted. “Blue Danube? That’s the most generic waltz song you could’ve come up with.”

“It’s a classic!”

“A classic fail. Can I keep reading my book? I’m at a good bit.”

“C’mon, please?” Clint blinked his big green eyes. “Steve and Tony’s wedding is coming up, and I haven’t done the waltz in years. You wouldn’t leave me hanging, would you?”

“I might have to.”

Clint made an offended noise. Bucky laughed and allowed himself to be pulled up. His hand fell onto Clint’s shoulder, and Clint wrapped his own hand around Bucky’s waist. “Do you even remember how to waltz?”

“Yeah, it’s basically big steps in time to the music.” Clint stepped back-straight into the coffee table. Bucky caught his arm to prevent him from falling. “Aww, coffee table, no.”

Bucky snorted. “Anything else you remember?”

“You don’t bump into anything or anyone else.” Lucky barked from behind Clint, who shooed him away.

“I’ll be impressed if you don’t knock over the punch bowl again.”

“Oh my _god_ , that was three years ago! It wasn’t even a wedding!”

“Shut up and dance. If you want to lead, I’ll have to make sure your sorry ass won’t swing us into a traffic accident.”

“Fine, fine.” Clint got back into the beat of the music and started to spin them around slowly. The two assassins stepped in time to the music-one big step, two little steps. One big step, two little steps. Twirl around. Don’t step on your partner’s toes too much. Repeat.

Bucky let out a hiss as Clint stepped on his toes again. “Stop doing that, asshole.”

Clint gave that cheeky grin that never failed to make Bucky’s pulse quicken. “Doing what?” he asked innocently.

“I’ve seen you on ops. You’re way more graceful than this.”

“You’ve seen me ballroom dance one time, Buck. And that was with Natasha. If I stepped on her toes, she would cut mine off.”

“That’s not an excuse to step all over mine.”

“You’re my boyfriend, I’m supposed to do dorky things with you.”

A rush of affection nearly knocked Bucky over. Just a year ago, he and Clint had been fighting so hard that neither of them would talk to the other for two weeks. And now here they were, practicing the waltz for Steve and Tony’s upcoming wedding in their own living room. Bucky didn’t think they would ever been able to fix their relationship, and each day he thanked whatever higher power was out there that he got to wake up each morning with Clint in his arms.

“Stepping all over my feet isn’t dorky. It hurts.”

“Aww, the big bad assassin can’t take the pain of someone stepping on his feet?” Bucky chose that moment to step on Clint’s foot, and the blonde yelped. “Ow! You douchebag!” Lucky barked loudly, and Bucky laughed.

“If you don’t stop complaining, I’ll tell Natasha you want to be her dance partner.”

 “I still can’t believe she’s letting Pepper lead. She never let me lead,” Clint muttered.

“Shut up, Barton. I’m letting you lead right now, aren’t you?”

“Only because I’m taller.” Bucky stepped on his other foot, and Clint grimaced. “Jesus! Cap won’t let you wear those combat boots when you’re being the best man.”

“Steve can’t tell me what to do, not when I have so much blackmail on him already.”

“Do tell.”

“Later, when we’re not busy.”

“Fine.” Bucky allowed Clint to spin him around, not protesting when Clint pulled him into his arms. “God, you’re so perfect,” Clint murmured. “I fucking love you.”

“Thanks, I love me too.”

“Jerk.”

Bucky laughed. “I love you too, Clint.” He leaned up to meet Clint on the lips as the music faded. Lucky panted and thumped his tail next to the coffee table.

“Well, neither of us died. I’d count that a success,” Clint announced once they broke apart.

“Please. Knowing Steve and Tony, there’s going to be way more dancing than just a waltz.” Clint groaned and buried his face in Bucky’s shoulder. “What did you expect?”

“I can only do the tango and the mambo!”

“Didn’t you say you could do the cha-cha?”

“I was talking about the Cha Cha Slide.” Bucky burst out laughing and Clint shoved his shoulder. “Don’t laugh at that! If it was a competitive dance, I would sweep the floor and you know it.”

“I’m sorry, but the idea of you sliding to the left and taking it back in a tuxedo while Steve gives you the Disappointed Face is just way too funny.”

“Don’t bring up Steve’s Disappointed Face. I feel like he’s somehow giving me that look right now.”

“Welcome to my world. I’ve been dealing with that face since the twenties.”

Clint sighed. “Is he going to have everyone do some old timey dance? I don’t think I can learn the foxtrot that fast.”

At Clint’s words, a memory suddenly washed over Bucky, causing him to stumble back.

_“C’mon, Bucky!” Jenny cried. “You can’t leave when they’re playin’ the foxtrot! You said you’d dance it with me.”_

_“I know, doll.” Bucky laughed, glancing back at the tables where Steve sat. He was focusing on his sketchbook, occasionally glancing up at the people spinning around on the floor. In the morning, he would probably show Bucky his sketches of the dancers in the hall. “But if Stevie ain’t feeling good, I’ll have to take him home.”_

_“Oh, he’s perfectly fine. Please, Buck? For me?”_

“You with me, James?”

Bucky gasped as he returned to the present. Clint had moved Bucky to sit down on the couch and was crouched down in front of him.

“Yeah, I just…” He blinked rapidly. “I know that dance.”

“You remember how to do the whole dance?”

Bucky nodded.

“It’s not related to anything bad, is it?”

“I don’t think so. I’m only remembering happy things.”

“That’s good.” Clint gave Bucky a kiss on the cheek. “Do you want to listen to a foxtrot song and see if any other memories come back?”

“Yeah.” Both of them walked over to Clint’s computer and searched up a list of foxtrot songs. Clint clicked a song called “You Make Me Feel So Young” by Frank Sinatra, and the music started to pour out of the speakers.

The sound of Frank Sinatra’s crooning stirred a lot of memories in Bucky. He had gotten most of them back, but every week or so he was always remembering something new. Now he was remembering dance halls, full of rosy cheeked girls and boys in green, of Jenny always wanting one dance more before he had to take Steve home. Of nights in the army camps when someone turned on the radio, and every soldier went to find a pretty nurse to dance with. Of Bucky spinning Peggy around as they both laughed, then Steve cutting in to dip Peggy low and give her a kiss on the lips while Bucky hooted. Of nights when the Howling Commandos got to play music behind enemy lines, when he and Private Eric had first danced together as a joke since Peggy was the only dame around and she was Steve’s, but then they danced together because they wanted to.

Bucky didn’t realize he was crying until Clint had wrapped him up in his arms. “What’s wrong?” he murmured, rubbing comforting circles in Bucky’s back. “Is the music stirring up bad memories?”

“No.” Bucky managed to keep his voice from wavering. “I’m…I’m remembering so many good ones, actually. Dance halls, Steve spinning Peggy around, the Howling Commandos clapping along when Dum Dum challenged Howard to a dance contest…”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Howard was an _awful_ dancer.”

Both men laughed. The song kicked up again, and Bucky’s foot started to tap along. Clint nudged him with a raised eyebrow.

“You wanna dance?”

“I thought you only knew the Cha Cha Slide.”

“I’m a fast learner.”

“Alright, big shot.” Bucky broke away from Clint and offered his hand to him. “Let’s dance. But _I_ get to lead.” Clint smiled and took his hand.

They weren’t stellar at it. Clint walked into the coffee table again, and both of them tripped over Lucky. But the more they danced, the better they got at it. As he whirled the man he loved around, Bucky felt something settle inside of him. His past was mingling with his present and future in a way he never expected, and it was absolutely beautiful. It made him feel so complete, like his past and future were melting together to create a gorgeous present.

“What’s up?” Clint breathed as the song ended.

“I just feel…so settled. It’s like I stepped back into the past to swing you around a dance hall.” Bucky couldn’t hold back his smile.

Clint laughed. “You’re such a sap. You’re lucky I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2020_

All that Bucky wanted to do when he got home was curl up with Clint and sleep for several years. The five-week stakeout in Uzbekistan had been absolute hell. He wasn’t allowed to have any contact with his friends and family back at home, and the unbearable heat was almost enough to make him long for Russia’s cold winters (Seriously, he had problems with heat, what the fuck was SHIELD thinking). By the time the debriefing was over, Bucky was barely able to keep himself from just running straight to the Tower.

“ _It’s good to see you again, Agent Barnes. Agent Barton is currently in the commons area, if you wish to meet him there,_ ” FRIDAY greeted Bucky as he stepped on the elevator.

“Thank you, FRIDAY.” Bucky couldn’t help a grin at the thought of being able to see Clint again. It had been too long since he laid eyes on his archer, too long since he had felt Clint in his arms.

“ _But_ _I must warn you, there is a bit of a…situation._ ”

Scratch that. If Clint had brought in a stray dog or assassin again, Bucky was going to punch him.

“What did Clint bring home this time?” he grumbled as he yanked off his gloves. “I swear to god, the St. Bernard from last month was bad enough.”

The doors dinged and slid open before FRIDAY could answer, and Bucky stepped off. “Clint?” he called. Something squealed in reply. Bucky tensed and reached for the gun hidden in his waistband.

“Help! Help! The tickle monster’s gonna get me!”

Bucky could only stare as a little boy ran into the room, shrieking with laughter. He skidded to a halt in front of Bucky. “Hide me!”

“What?”

Footsteps thudded loudly, accompanied by growling. The boy gasped and leapt behind Bucky. “He’s gonna get me!”

Bucky immediately formed a defensive position. How the hell this kid got into the Tower, he didn’t know, but he would be damned if he didn’t protect him.

“I’m coming, Peter…” a voice hissed, sending the little boy into another giggle fit. Strange, why did the voice sound like…

“Clint?!”

Clint froze in the entryway. His hands were curled up like claws, and he was wearing a headband with Shrek ears on it.

“Bucky? What the hell-heck? We thought you were getting home tomorrow!”

“No, it was today. What are you wearing?”

Something tugged on his pants, and Bucky looked down to see the kid staring up at him. He looked to be about five or six, with tousled brown hair and huge mocha eyes. “Uncle Clint is wearing the Tickle Monster headband, ‘cos he’s the tickle monster!” he stage whispered. “That’s the rules, like Papa said. And you hafta follow the rules!”

Bucky blinked, looking from the boy to Clint. “…Why is he calling you Uncle Clint?”

Clint pulled off the headband and walked over to them. “Look, it’s not my fault this time.” The boy reached his arms up to Clint, who obligingly picked him up. “Peter, this is Uncle Bucky, the guy you’ve been hearing a lot about from everyone. Bucky, this is Peter Parker Stark-Rogers.”

Bucky stared at Peter. “Steve and Tony adopted a kid already?”

“Long story.”

Peter pointed at Bucky. “That’s Uncle Bucky? Papa’s best friend?”

“Yup. That’s your Uncle Bucky.”

Peter gave Bucky a huge smile, revealing that he had lost one of his bottom teeth. Bucky would never admit it out loud in fear of losing the Winter Soldier reputation, but the kid was adorable. “Hi, Uncle Bucky! I’m Peter! D’you wanna play games with me an’ Uncle Clint?”

Bucky opened his mouth to refuse, this was way too much to process in a day and he just wanted to pass out in his bed, but he could feel Steve’s disappointed gaze even if he wasn’t in the room. The kid was obviously thrilled to meet him, and if Steve had really adopted him then he couldn’t avoid it forever.

So he shrugged. “I guess.”

“Great! Let’s play hide an’ seek!” Peter wiggled until Clint let him down. “Have you seen my room, Uncle Bucky? It’s super cool! Aunt Tasha helped me paint spiders on the wall. I like spiders. Do you like spiders?”

“…Yes?” Bucky hadn’t caught a single word of what Peter had said. Clint clamped a hand over his mouth to hide his laughter, and Bucky glared at him.

“Spiders are super cool! Uncle Scott says that ants are the best bug, but that’s silly, ‘cos spiders aren’t bugs! Can I show Uncle Bucky my room after we play hide an’ seek?”

“Of course, Peter.” Clint ruffled Peter’s hair, making it even messier than before. Peter giggled and grabbed Clint’s hand, then grabbed Bucky’s metal hand without warning.

Bucky’s mind ground to a halt. He fought down the urge to smack Peter away from his hand, but he didn’t know how else to get Peter to let go of it. This was the hand he had _killed_ people with, yet Steve’s kid grabbed it like it was nothing.

Clint must have caught the panic in his eyes, because he knelt down next to Peter. “Um, maybe not that hand-“

Peter grinned up at Bucky. “Is this like Daddy’s robot armor? It’s shiny! You’re the coolest, Uncle Bucky.”

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out._

Bucky managed a shaky smile. “Yeah. It’s like your dad’s armor.”

“Cool!” Peter looked back at Clint. “Did you want to hold it, Uncle Clint?”

Clint’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Yes, actually. I would _love_ to hold Uncle Bucky’s hand. Thank you, Peter. Where did you want to play hide and seek?”

“In the pen-house. I play it there with Daddy and Papa all the time, let’s go!” Peter started skipping down the hall.

Clint slipped his hand in Bucky’s and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “You alright? Peter’s a bit much, but he’s a good kid.”

“There’s never been a kid living in the Tower full-time before,” Bucky murmured. “I could hurt him.”

“I doubt that.” Clint leaned over to give Bucky a kiss on the lips. Bucky hummed and closed his eyes. God, he had missed Clint so badly. He had missed the feel of his lips on his, how sweet he tasted. He didn’t want to ever stop kissing him.

“Eww, that’s gross!”

Clint laughed, and Bucky pulled away. “Okay, moment ruined.”

“But Buuuuuck!” Clint whined.

Bucky shushed him. “We’ll continue this later…in bed.”

Clint gasped, putting a hand on his chest in mock surprise. “How dare you be so filthy in front of a child!”

“Oh my god, I hate you. Let’s go play the game before the kid explodes.”

Clint rolled his eyes, but started to walk. Peter cheered and led them down the hallway to the special elevator that went up to Steve and Tony’s penthouse. The door opened into the living room, which now had coloring books and toys scattered around it.

“Do you know how to play hide an’ seek, Uncle Bucky?” Peter asked. Bucky’s mind blanked out. When was the last time he had played that game?

“I’ll tell Uncle Bucky how to play. How about you use the bathroom before we play? You’re fidgeting an awful lot,” Clint pointed out.

“Okay, I’ll go. Don’t hide without me!” Peter scampered down the hall.

“Where are the others?” Bucky asked Clint once Peter was out of earshot.

“Tony, Steve, Sam, the twins, and Vision are on a mission, Jane, Bruce, and Thor are in New Mexico with Darcy, Pepper and Nicole are at work, and Natasha is on assignment. So I got Peter duty until the others get back.”

“You seem to be handling him pretty well.”

Clint shrugged. “I just have experience with my nieces and nephews.”

“Oh yeah, how’re the new babies doing?”

“Penelope and Jackson are doing great! Barney said Penny’s the cutest of the brood so far. Nathaniel took personal offense to that.”

Bucky chuckled. “He was a pretty cute kid, but it looks like his reign is over.”

“Damn straight. There’s two new Barton babies, and one of them is here to take the title of ‘Cutest Baby Ever.’”

A door slammed shut, and Peter skipped out of the hallway. “All done! Can we play now?”

“Sure, kiddo! Who do you want to count first?”

“Hmm…” Peter pointed at Bucky. “Can you count to twenty?”

“Yes.”

“You’re gonna seek first. No peeking!”

Bucky shot Clint a look before covering his eyes with his hands. “1…2…3…”

He could hear Peter’s feet smacking against the floor as he ran away, but Clint didn’t seem to move at all. Peter was probably going to whine at him about cheating. “…19…20. Clint, did you forget what-“

Clint was gone.

“…Never mind.”

Bucky started to look around the penthouse. He didn’t open the door to Steve and Tony’s room (presumably off-limits), but he checked all of the other doors.

“Hello?” Bucky opened the door to a light blue room with navy blue animals stenciled along one wall. There was an unmade bed with Disney Princess covers, and a bookshelf full of kid’s books and board games. If he had to guess, it was Peter’s room.

The covers on the bed shifted, and Bucky smirked. He silently padded over to the bed and ripped off the sheets. “Found ya!”

Peter shrieked and rolled off the bed. “No, no tickles! No tickles!”

“Relax, kid. It’s Clint job to give tickles. Speaking of which, I don’t know where he is. Do you want to help?”

Peter nodded his head eagerly and skipped out of the room. “He can’t be in Daddy an’ Papa’s room, ‘cos we’re not allowed to play hide an’ seek in there. Maybe he’s in the bathroom?”

Bucky opened the door to the bathroom. “I don’t see him.”

“Well, he can’t have left the pen-house. That’s not allowed. FRIDAY would tell us if he tried to leave.”

“You’re right.”

They made their way back to the living room, where Peter ground to a halt and motioned at Bucky to crouch down. “The pantry door is open,” he whispered, pointing at a door next to the kitchenette that was ajar.

“Wait here. If Clint’s in there, I’ll surprise him.” Peter made a zipping motion over his mouth. Bucky stood up and crept over to the pantry, where he could hear faint crinkling noises. He waited a beat, then flung the door open. “Here’s Johnny!”

Clint yelped and fell off the shelf he had been standing on. Bucky caught him easily in a bridal carry. “Oh my fu-Jesus _Christ_ , Bucky, why would you do that?! That joke _still_ isn’t funny!”

“Why were you climbing all over Stark’s shelves like some kind of monkey?”

“I was trying to find that exotic coffee grounds mix Stark has, until I was startled off the shelves by my jerk of a boyfriend. And if you ever pull a ‘Here’s Johnny’ joke again I will break up with you.”

“Uncle Clint! Uncle Clint!” Peter ran over to them. “We found you! I was right, Uncle Bucky!”

“You were right, kid.” Bucky set Clint back on the ground. “You have pretty good observation skills.”

“Mmhmm! I’m very smart.” Peter beamed.

“You’re gonna feed his ego, Buck,” Clint groaned. “We don’t need Stark’s kid to get an ego as big as his dad’s just yet.”

“His ego can’t get bigger than Tony’s; nothing is bigger than that.”

“True.”

“Uncle Clint, Uncle Clint.” Peter yanked Clint’s shirt up and down until Clint crouched down in front of him. “Is Uncle Bucky your boyfriend?”

“You could say that.” Bucky kicked his leg. “Yes, we are boyfriends.”

“So you love each other?”

“Yes,” Bucky answered.

“When are you guys gonna get married?”

Clint shot up faster than a bullet, and Bucky nearly fell into the door. “Ex _cuse_ me?”

“If you guys love each other, then you gotta get married! Isn’t that the rule?”

Bucky tried to fight the heat rising in his cheeks. He did love Clint very much, but he hadn’t given much thought to them getting married. He knew Clint and Bobbi’s marriage had fallen on the rocks very quickly, so he doubted that Clint would want to get married again. As for him, he didn’t think he would end up getting married even before the war began. Back then, he couldn’t even be open about being with other guys. And after HYDRA…

“Well, it’s not that simple, Peter,” Clint started to explain. “Weddings take a lot of time and money. And there are some people that don’t ever get married.”

“But don’t you love Uncle Bucky?”

“Of course I do. But, uh…” Clint glanced up at Bucky, face tinted red. “We haven’t really talked about it?”

“Oh, okay.” Peter turned to Bucky. “Hey, Uncle Bucky! You should marry-“

The elevator dinged, and Bucky had never been so grateful to hear Tony’s voice boom “We’re home!”

Peter shrieked and sprinted to the elevator. “Papa! Daddy!” He wrapped his arms around Steve’s legs. Steve chuckled.

“Hey, Petey. Did you have a good time with Uncle Clint?”

“Yeah, yeah. I got to meet Uncle Bucky too!”

Both men looked over at Bucky in surprise. “Weren’t you getting back tomorrow?” Steve asked.

“That’s what I said!” Clint exclaimed.

“You were both wrong.”

“Papa, Papa, guess what? Uncle Clint and Uncle Bucky are getting married!”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, really?” Clint and Bucky started to protest.

“No, we’re not getting married-“

“He _wants_ us to get married, but I said-“

Steve smirked. “I call best man.”

“Steve!”

“Well, it’s about time. Guess I win the bet!” Tony declared.

Bucky facepalmed.

Steve walked over to them and placed a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “We’re just teasing you, Buck. But if you two change your mind-”

Clint threw his hands into the air. “Oh my god, I’m leaving. Bucky, let’s go to our place. We need to catch up on a lot of missed nights.” He started walking towards the elevator, and Bucky followed.

“Make sure to surprise him!” Tony called after them. “And be romantic! If it’s at a restaurant, I know some good ones-“

The doors slid close. Clint sighed and relaxed into Bucky’s arms. “Jesus Christ.”

“Peter’s awfully persistent,” Bucky mused. “Are you sure he’s adopted?”

“Positive.”

Bucky hummed and wrapped his arms around Clint, not thinking too much of anything else. “When we get to the apartment, we’re gonna watch all the Dog Cops episodes I missed and not do much of anything for two days.”

“Agreed.” Clint tilted his head to give Bucky a kiss on the lips. He hummed and deepened it, nipping at Clint’s lower lip.

“Or,” Clint suggested, “We make up on the hardcore sex we didn’t get to have the last five weeks and save Dog Cops for tomorrow.”

Bucky grinned. He’d focus on the marriage thing later. For now, he had lost time to catch up on.

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2021_

It wasn’t unusual to see Clint lying in a hospital bed. Out of all the Avengers, he was the one who got the worst injuries (Steve held the record for the most hospital visits-some things never changed). He was the only person on the team without an enhancement that protected him or healed injuries faster than usual, yet he was always making reckless decisions that landed him in a sterile white room, monitors beeping while IVs pumped drugs into his system. Bucky loved how brave Clint was, but seeing his husband lying motionless in a bed with only screens to confirm he was alive tore at his heart.

Bucky ran his metal hand through his hair, his flesh one gripping Clint’s hand next to his bed. God, it had only been three months since they got married, and he could remember the ceremony like it had happened yesterday. It was too soon for Clint to be back in a hospital bed, too soon for Bucky’s world to feel like it was tipping over. They had just promised each other forever, and now the world wanted to tear that away.

Doctor Doom had attacked New York again. Bucky had been on a standard OP with SHIELD so he hadn’t been in the battle, but Steve had filled him in. Doom’s robots had been upgraded-they were faster, stronger, and tougher than ever before. The Avengers had been pinned down in midtown Manhattan by the robots, trying to fight the wave emerging from beneath the Empire State Building while Doom watched from a flying platform.

The fight had ended when a huge bolt of lightning from a storm cloud overhead struck Doctor Doom’s platform, knocking him off into the sea of robots. Without their master controlling them, they began to shut down. The impact of the fall had knocked Doom out, and the team found him buried under a huge pile of robots. According to Steve, he was now sitting in a SHIELD holding cell, awaiting punishment for his crimes. Thor had denied being the one to cast the lightning bolt, claiming that “there are other forces out there not of Asgardian origin.”

The god’s cryptic words didn’t mean anything to Bucky, however. Clint had ran out of arrows halfway through the fight and had to resort to hand-to-hand combat, despite it being his weak point. He was the first of the team to go down.

That was a week ago. Bucky had gotten home three days after the battle, and Clint had yet to wake up. The doctors kept promising that he would eventually come out of the coma, but they never specified when he was supposed to.

Bucky hadn’t left Clint’s side for the past two days. It was hard enough to look at the ugly bruises on his face and arms knowing that he hadn’t been there to protect the man he loved. But to see him deathly still on the bed, a heart monitor’s beeping the only thing breaking the silence that should have been filled with Clint’s words, made Bucky feel like he was falling apart every time his own heart moved. So he sat in the chair next to the bed, flesh hand gripping his husband’s like it was a lifeline.

Steve had come by earlier with some food from the hospital’s cafeteria. The tray sat untouched in the chair next to Bucky. It reminded him of how Clint always complained about the hospital food, claiming it to be worse than Steve’s cooking. He wasn’t awake to make faces at the soggy sandwiches and pudding that jiggled too much to be real pudding.

“You asshole,” Bucky muttered to himself. “You told me that when I got home we’d feed Lucky our pizza crusts and place bets on whether Kate or America would propose.” His metal hand slid down to the chain hanging around his neck. On it dangled a golden wedding ring, right next to his heart. Clint had been wearing his own chain on the day of the battle, along with Bucky’s old dog tags against his chest. Now they rested in Bucky’s pocket, a bitter reminder that the promises they had just made might be broken.

“You weren’t supposed to get into a coma. You promised me you wouldn’t get into any accidents, and I laughed and said you wouldn’t be Clint without gaining three more bandages before I got home. Why do you have to prove me right?”

He fell silent again, rubbing small circles into Clint’s hand with his fingers. He knew what he was getting into when he married a train wreck like Clint, but Bucky never expected them to test their vows this early into their marriage. He brushed away the tears threatening to fall out of his eyes. He had done enough crying the first night he spent here.

It felt like hours had passed before Bucky felt his body starting to droop. The stress from worrying over Clint and not eating anything had taken a toll on his body. But if he fell asleep and something happened to Clint, he wouldn’t ever forgive himself. Bucky hadn’t been there for his husband one time, and that landed him in a coma. If he failed Clint again…

He didn’t notice the hand in his starting to move. It was the groan that jerked Bucky out of his thoughts, and he whipped his head up so fast that he nearly got whiplash.

And there was Clint, in his bruised and bandaged glory. “Oh, Christ, those lights are really bright.” He groaned and turned his head, smiling when he saw Bucky. “Hey, babe.”

“You’re an asshole, Clint.”

“I love you too.” Clint tried to sit up in bed, but hissed in pain. In one fluid motion, Bucky had slipped his arm behind Clint to support him. “Fuck, I feel like I got hit by a car.”

“Close. It was a bunch of Doombots.”

“Dammit, Doom.” Clint rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna leave a nasty review on his Yelp page. How bad is it?”

“You got a sprained ankle, some cracked ribs, and a shitload of bruises all over.”

“Mmm.” Clint waggled his eyebrows at Bucky. “So does that mean-“

“We’re not having ‘welcome home’ sex when you have a sprained ankle and cracked ribs.”

Clint pouted and made a whining noise in the back of his throat. “But it’s not as bad as the other times I got hurt!”

“You were also in a coma for six days.”

“Oh.” Clint glanced around the room. “Where are the others?”

“Sam cracked his knee when Doom took out his wing. Steve got a nasty electric shock, but he’s probably fussing over Tony. The suit wouldn’t open for five minutes, and he got some burns. Peter’s probably playing doctor with Tony. The rest are fine, save for some more mild injuries.”

“So I didn’t miss my chance at being godfather to Jane, Bruce, and Thor’s kid?”

Bucky groaned and rested his forehead against the railing on Clint’s bed. “Really? You wake up and you want to start that argument again?”

“Darcy claimed godmother already, I need to put my stake out there.”

“You have three nephews and two nieces. I think you’re good on godchildren.”

“No way! You can never have too many godchildren to spoil.” Clint stuck his tongue out at Bucky, who shook his head and planted a tender kiss on Clint’s cheek.

“I missed you,” Bucky murmured in Clint’s ear. “I thought you would never wake up.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, James.”

Bucky’s heart soared.

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2022_

“You know we can’t keep Cecilia.”

Clint crossed his arms and stared Bucky in the eye. “What, you’re gonna throw her out?”

“Of course not!” Bucky glanced back to their bedroom. The four-year-old girl they had discovered in the alleyway last week was still fast asleep on top of their bed. Cecilia had barely spoken a word to either Clint or Bucky since they had decided to take her home and try to find her family, but Bucky knew Clint, and he knew that Clint was getting attached to her.

And that was a problem.

They were two trained assassins that had spent time being brainwashed, and they both had fucked-up shit inside their heads. The nights where Bucky woke up to Clint notching an arrow at him or snapped out of his trance to find himself holding a knife to Clint’s throat didn’t occur as often as they used to, but they were still there. Anyone that walked into the room during those nights would instantly be at risk. If a child lived with them full-time, they would be in constant danger, especially with Bucky and his metal arm. Clint could barely fight it off, and a child would definitely be unable to.

And if a villain knew where they lived, the child would become an easy target. Peter had nearly been kidnapped several times by many people over the past two years. Jorunn wasn’t even a year old, yet several villains had tried to snatch her out of Jane’s arms (the threat of the Hulk and Thor scared the more sensible ones off). Bucky and Clint didn’t even live in the Tower anymore-how many people would break into their apartment to kidnap an Avenger’s kid?

Not to mention the missions. Calls to assemble, SHIELD Ops to the middle of nowhere, and other unavoidable instances where one or both of them wouldn’t be home. The kid would grow up lonely, wondering why their parents had to leave all the time. And they led such dangerous lives. Either of them could die while on a mission.

Clint knew all of this. He knew why having a child would be harder for them than anyone else on the team. So why did he have to be so damn stubborn?

“I know you feel bad for her, Clint; I do too. What kind of person leaves a toddler alone in an alley? But the fact remains that we can’t keep her.”

“Why can’t we? Tony and Steve have Peter and Emily. Bruce, Jane, and Thor have Jorunn. Natasha and Pepper have Albert. Sam and T’Challa are considering adoption.” Clint huffed and leaned back against the wall. “What’s so different about us?”

“We don’t live in the Tower. And I know-“ Bucky raised a hand to stop Clint’s indignant squawk. “-That this building has good security, but not everyone will pass up the chance to get their hands on an Avenger’s kid. And with all the missions we get called on, we won’t be home all of the time.”

“So upgrade the security. Request less missions.”

“It’s not that easy. We lead dangerous lives, Clint. If one or both of us got killed out in the field, where will that leave the kid?”

“You think I haven’t thought about it already?” Clint snapped.

Bucky raised his hands in defense. “No, I’m just saying you haven’t thought about it enough.”

“I _have_ , James,” Clint hissed, not daring to raise his voice in case it woke Cecilia. “She has no family, and after what the system did to me I won’t let any kid go through it.”

Clint did have a point, but Bucky wasn’t going to give up the fight. “We don’t know for sure that she has no family. We can keep checking to see if anyone’s missing their daughter. And if she really doesn’t have a family, we can make sure she goes to a good home.”

“That’s not how it works and you know it.”

“Clint…She won’t be safe here. We’re dangerous. _I’m_ dangerous.” Bucky reached out to Clint, but his husband swatted his hand away.

“You’re not dangerous. You’re scared. Stop making excuses for it, James.”

The words felt like acid on Bucky’s face. He opened his mouth to retaliate, but a sniffling cut him off.

Cecelia stood at the door to their bedroom, Clint’s old Star Wars shirt hanging off of her tiny frame. Tear tracks ran down her face, and in that moment she was the most fragile thing Bucky had ever seen.

 _She won’t be safe around you,_ the voice in his head whispered. Bucky tried to stomp down the urge to pick up Cecilia and hug her, crossing his arms instead and staring stonily at the doorframe. They would find her family. They had to.

In sharp contrast to Bucky’s, Clint’s entire demeanor changed. He put a gentle smile on his face and walked to Cecilia to crouch down at her level. “Did you have a bad dream again?”

“Yes.” Cecilia sniffled again.

“Do you want to draw some more in the coloring book?”

Cecilia nodded and held her arms up to Clint, who picked her up and placed her on his hip. He didn’t look at Bucky when he walked by. Bucky looked away from them and pretended that his heart didn’t feel like a sword had sliced through it.

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2023_

Bucky woke up to his head pounding like the Hulk had tried to embed it into the ground. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes. His brain instinctively took in the other parts of his surroundings.

_Sitting down. There’s bouncing and the wind is racing-they dumped me in the back of a vehicle._

_Faintly hearing voices. The people who took me are talking on the other side of a wall. This is a truck._

_Something metal is wrapped around my ankles. They’re cuffed._

_What happened?_

The last thing Bucky remembered was going out with some of the other Avengers and the kids to a local park, which had been ruined by a bunch of AIM soldiers attacking the park. They had taken out Bruce with a tranquilizer gun before he could Hulk out, so he must have been shot with the same kind of weapon.

“Poppa?”

Despite his headache, Bucky’s head shot up fast. “Cecilia?”

Cecilia sat across from him in the back of the truck. Her pigtails had fallen out and tear tracks ran down her cheeks. She sniffled and crawled over to him and into his lap.

“Poppa, you’re awake! The bad guys knocked you out and threw you in here, and when I tried to kick one of them they put me in here too!” She sniffled again. “Poppa, I’m scared. Where’s Daddy? What are they gonna do?”

“Shh, sweetheart.” He tried to give her a hug, but his metal arm refused to budge (thanks, Stark, you promised this one couldn’t be shut down by the enemy or any random power surges), so he had to settle for wrapping his free arm around her. She buried her head into his chest.

When he had started to consider Cecilia as his daughter, Bucky didn’t know. It may had been when he realized Clint was hopelessly attached to her, or when Clint had to leave on a mission and she clung to Bucky for the whole week. But she had wormed her way into his heart, and he wasn’t planning on letting her go for a long time.

“Did any of the bad guys hurt you, Cecilia?”

Cecilia peeked up at him and nodded. “One of them hit my elbow and it hurts a lot.”

A fiery rage started to burn inside Bucky at the thought of any of the AIM soldiers hurting his daughter, but he managed to keep his face neutral so he wouldn’t scare Cecilia. “When we get home, we’ll put a Band-Aid on it. Do you want dinosaurs, Hello Kitty, or superheroes?”

Cecilia stuck out the tip of her tongue as she thought about her choices. “Can I get Wonder Woman?”

“Of course.”

“Yeah! Then I can lasso all the bad guys!”

“Are you gonna tie them up real good?”

Cecilia nodded. “Then they won’t appear when I play with you and Daddy!”

At the mention of Clint, Bucky’s heart gave a painful squeeze. He had lost track of Clint when the fight had begun. Had AIM captured him as well? Was he trying to find them? Bucky couldn’t tell if the tracker in his arm was still working after AIM had disabled it. Hopefully, he was able to track their location.

A loud banging on the far wall made him jump. Cecilia squeaked and buried her face back into his chest. A slot in the wall opened up, revealing a woman’s face with red eyes, framed by green hair.

“Shut up in there!” she barked. “You aren’t gonna need your voice that often where you’re going!”

Bucky growled and wrapped his arm tighter around Cecilia.

“Oh, wow, the Winter Soldier growled at me. I’m fucking terrified.” She turned to look at someone on her side of the wall. “Hey, Mercury, since he’s snuggling with the kid, am I allowed to take a picture of it? I need a new background.”

“Sure, Em. That would also make good blackmail.”

“The most terrifying assassin HYDRA had ever produced-snuggling a child! We’ll finally one-up HYDRA once everyone sees the Winter Soldier being all cuddly.”

“Shut up, you two!  I’m trying to drive.”

“Sorry, Cinder.”

“And stop using our names! God, you two are such novices.”

“…That’s what we are.”

“Just shut up. Once we get back, I’m gonna tell Officer Torchwick to transfer you two.”

“Ew, no! He’ll try to make me work with Neo again!” The slot in the wall slid shut, once again muffling the conversation.

“Poppa, what’s blackmail?” Cecilia whispered.

“It’s something that’s not very nice to do to people,” Bucky answered.

“Oh.” Cecilia nodded. “Like kidnapping.”

“Yup.”

Cecilia sighed and laid her head against Bucky’s chest, blinking slowly. How long had they been in this truck for Cecilia to get tired? They had gone to the park around ten o’clock, and she usually took naps around two. Had Bucky been knocked out for four hours?

The ride lapsed into silence, other than the sounds of the car and the occasional shouted word from the front of the truck. He couldn’t estimate how long they had been driving for, but it was long enough for him to lose the feeling in his feet and for Cecilia to doze off.

“SHIT!”

The truck screeched to a stop, jolting Bucky out of his dazed state. Cecilia had been jerked awake as well, and she clung to Bucky.

“What the hell just flew past us?”

“I don’t know! It went too fast for me to see it!”

“Well, who’s gonna go get it?”

“Mercury.”

“Why me?” There was a long pause. “Okay, stop glaring at me! I’ll go get it.”

A door slammed. Bucky held his breath, preparing for the chance that Mercury would open the back of the truck. But the footsteps outside walked straight past them and back to the front.

The door in the front opened. “I have no idea what this is.”

“It’s an arrow, dumbass.”

Bucky’s took in a deep breath. Could it be…?

“I know that, but who the hell uses arrows? I thought that was only, like, Green Arrow from the Batman comics.”

“Well, there’s Hawkeye, but I doubt that he was able to follow us. The park is pretty much ruined, and the Avengers are probably too busy cleaning it up.”

“What about, uh-shit, what’s her name-Lady Hawkeye?”

“Lady Hawkeye? Who the hell is that-his twin sister?”

“No idea, but she does exist.”

“Emerald, you’re just fucking with me right-“

Mercury cut off abruptly. There was a loud thump, like someone had fallen over.

“Mercury, if this is a prank, I swear-Fuck. _Please_ tell me that isn’t a dart.”

Bucky’s heartbeat quickened. There was a real chance of them getting rescued.

“We were followed. Grab your weapons while I alert the base. This is Convoy Truck 3-1-4, escorting the Winter Soldier and his daughter to the base-I repeat, Convoy Truck 3-1-4, escorting Winter Soldier and daughter. We believe that our mission has been compromised-“

Cinder didn’t finish. There was a loud yell, followed by glass shattering. One of the girls yelped and a gun went off.

“Hey, that’s _my_ weapon-“

The truck was rocked violently from side to side as the people in front wrestled around. Cecilia whimpered and clung tightly to Bucky, who focused on keeping her steady so she wouldn’t get thrown into the walls.

Finally, the sounds of the scuffle died down. Heavy footsteps thudded around the side of the truck, and the truck door started to jiggle. Bucky angled Cecilia away from the door. He didn’t know who had won the fight, and if it was any of the AIM recruits, he wasn’t going to let them hurt Cecilia.

The door swung open, revealing a bruised and scratched-up Clint Barton.

Cecilia squealed. “Daddy!” She slipped out of Bucky’s arm and jumped straight at Clint, who thankfully caught her. “Daddy, you saved us from the bad guys!”

“Of course I did, princess. I wasn’t going to let them get away with stealing you and Poppa.” He planted a kiss on her head before looking back at Bucky. “You seem pretty tied up over there, Buck.”

“I will punch you, Clint.” In all honestly, he felt like he was going to pass out from relief. Whatever AIM had been planning to do to him and Cecilia scared him. If he became an asset again and forgot this new life he had built for himself…

Natasha walked up behind Clint. Her red hair was wind-tossed and there was dirt on her cheek. “We’re putting the AIM unit driving this truck into a SHIELD van. Don’t try to adopt any of them, ястреб.”

Clint groaned. “Jesus, Tasha, that joke is getting old. You take the gremlin, I have a husband to get free.” He passed over Cecilia to Natasha. “Be good for Aunt Tasha, okay?”

“Okay. Hey, Aunt Tasha, are Aunt Pepper and Albert here too?” Cecilia’s voice faded as Natasha carried Cecilia around to the front of the truck.

When they were out of sight, Clint visibly deflated. He climbed into the back of the truck and wrapped Bucky in a bear hug.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Bucky murmured. “They just said we were going to an AIM base. I don’t know what they were planning. If they had hurt Cecilia…”

“I would’ve torn them apart for hurting either of you. God, I just…” Clint took a shaky breath. “I thought I lost both of you. Steve tried to chase down the truck after they threw both of you in it, but he got blocked by a bunch of AIM soldiers. I got pinned down by at least seven of ‘em. We finally beat them, but by then the truck was long gone.”

“How long has it been?”

“Almost three hours.”

Chills ran down Bucky’s spine. “Shit, I woke up an hour ago. AIM’s really got something that packs a punch.”

Clint nodded. “I think Bruce is still passed out. I don’t know. Once I heard that SHIELD had eyes on the truck you guys were in…I kind of stole one of Tony’s cars.”

Bucky frowned and let go of Clint, who leaned back. “Didn’t he threaten to castrate you last time?”

Clint held his hands up in defense. “Natasha and Steve jumped in with me. He’s not gonna cross either of them.”

“Wait, Steve?” Bucky twisted his head to look out the back of the truck, but all he could see was the empty road behind them. “Where is he?”

“He’s probably giving those AIM kids the Disappointed Face. I’m not sure whether they deserve it or not.” He started to tug at the cuffs on Bucky’s ankles. “Enough talk, let’s get these off. I have a much nicer set of cuffs at home.”

Bucky swatted at Clint. “If you crack that joke again I will divorce you.”

“Aww, dirty jokes,” Clint grumbled. He rummaged around in his suit pockets until he pulled out a small device and placed it on the ground between Bucky’s ankles. The device lit up, and a second later the cuffs released.

“Thank god. I don’t need to lose any more limbs.” Bucky tried to stand up but only succeeded in toppling over.

“Wow, someone’s unsteady.” Clint helped Bucky up and wrapped his flesh arm around his shoulders. “Did they do anything else to you?”

“I can’t use the arm. I’m not sure what they did to it, but I do know that I’m gonna punch Stark. ‘Totally proofed against enemy attacks’ my ass.” Clint chuckled as they rounded the corner of the truck.

Tony’s Bugatti was parked in front of the AIM truck, next to a black SHIELD van. Two SHIELD agents were examining the front of the truck, while a third was talking with Natasha, who was still holding Cecilia. A fourth agent stood next to Steve, who was glaring pointedly at…

Bucky blinked. There was the girl who had checked on him and Cecilia through the slot of the truck. On her left was a boy with dark gray hair and metallic boots. On her right was another girl with shoulder-length black hair and piercing golden eyes. All three of them were handcuffed. But what really struck Bucky was how _young_ they looked.

“Jesus, how old are they? They don’t look much older than Cooper.”

Clint’s face darkened. “Looks like AIM’s resorted to hiring teenagers to do their dirty work. We’ve got a lot of assholes in yellow suits to beat up.”

Bucky’s reply died on his lips when Cecilia shouted, “Daddy! Poppa!” She wiggled around in Natasha’s arms until she set her down, and ran towards them. Bucky let go of Clint’s waist to scoop her up, staggering a little. He had most of the feeling in his ankles back, but his daughter’s momentum nearly knocked him over.

Clint placed a steadying hand on Cecilia’s back. “Whoa, whoa, don’t knock Poppa over. He’s still getting over his sea legs.”

“Sorry, Poppa. Thanks for saving us, Daddy!” She leaned over to Clint and planted a kiss on his cheek. Clint blew a raspberry on her cheek, causing her to squeal. Bucky gave Clint a raspberry of his own.

“Ew, Buck!” Clint wiped his hand furiously across his cheek. “That’s disgusting!”

“Daddy got a raspberry!” Cecilia stuck her tongue out at Clint.

Bucky laughed. “You deserved that, Clint.”

“I can’t believe it. My own daughter and husband have turned against me. I’m gonna tell Steve.”

“No!” Cecilia gasped. “No tickles from Uncle Steve!”

“I heard my name.” Steve strolled up to them. His hair was ruffled and his suit had some new holes in it, but otherwise he seemed fine. “Does someone need tickles?”

“No! Poppa, help me!” Cecilia squirmed in Bucky’s arms. “I don’t want tickles!”

“Hmm, I dunno. I’m feeling pretty tired…”

“Poppa!”

Steve chuckled. “The tickle monster isn’t here right now, it’s just Uncle Steve. You’re safe, Cecilia.”

“Good.” Cecilia let out a small yawn, and rubbed at her eyes. “I like Uncle Steve better than the tickle monster.”

“I think it’s time to call it a day,” Clint announced. “The small fry need to take a nap. I’ll take her.” He removed Cecilia from Bucky’s arms and walked over to the Bugatti. Bucky and Steve followed.

The agent Natasha had been talking to waved and jogged over to the SHIELD van, where the other agents were piling in. “SHIELD’s gonna take care of those three,” Natasha explained. “Let’s go home. Everyone’s been on edge since the attack, and they’ll be glad to hear we’re safe.”

“I get shotgun.” Steve opened the passenger door and slid into the seat before anyone could protest. Clint stared him dead in the eye and slid a finger across his neck.

Bucky opened the back door and blinked. “There’s no car seat for Cecilia.”

“She’ll just sit between us.” Clint opened the other door and set Cecilia down gently in the middle before climbing in. Bucky sighed and got in as well.

“Guess I’m driving.” Natasha slid into the driver’s seat and turned the key into the ignition, and the engine roared to life. She started driving in the opposite direction of where the truck had been heading. The rumbling of the car soon put Cecilia to sleep, and Bucky drifted off as well.

* * *

_August 23 rd, 2024_

“WAKE UP!”

Something heavy landed on Bucky’s chest. He eyes flew open and he let out a wheeze of surprise. “What the hell-“

Penelope gasped from her placement on his chest. “Uncle Buck said a bad word!” She clasped her hands on her cheeks, bouncing up and down. “Cece, your poppa is naughty!”

Clint groaned next to Bucky. Cecilia had situated herself on his chest, grinning wildly. “It’s too early for this, you two.”

“Uncle Barney told me and Penny to wake you and Poppa up for breakfast,” Cecilia explained, rolling off of Clint.

“I don’t care about breakfast.” Clint rolled over and threw an arm around Bucky, who snuggled into his touch. “I want to sleep in. The drive over here was awful.”

“Aunt Laura made pancakes.”

“Okay, that’s worth getting out of bed for.” Bucky whined in the back of his throat as Clint started untangling himself from the covers.

“C’mon, we can’t relax for five more minutes?”

“Not when there’s warm food and coffee.”

Clint stood up and stretched out his arms. Penelope threw her hands over her eyes. “Uncle Clint, you’re in your underwear! Get dressed!”

“What?” Clint looked down at his Captain America boxers as the two girls fell into hysterics. Bucky snickered.

“You’re looking good this morning.”

“Shut up.”

“Let’s let my daddies get dressed, Penny. We can wake up Cooper!”

“Ooh, let’s get Jackson to help us!” Both girls ran out the door, calling out for Penelope’s twin brother.

Clint flopped back down on the bed. “Why did we think it was a good idea to take a vacation here?”

“Because we hadn’t been out to the farm in a while, and Cecilia wanted to see her cousins before she became a kindergartener.” Bucky threw his sheets off and padded over to the dresser. “You aren’t invincible to her puppy dog eyes.”

“Neither are you.” A well-aimed shirt landed on Clint’s face. “Hey, thanks.” He peeled the shirt off his face.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that my Beyoncé shirt?”

“It’s mine now.” Clint tugged it over his head. “Just take one of mine.”

“But Steve and I bought that together.” He pulled out Clint’s Harry Potter shirt and put it on anyways.

“No, I claim ownership of it now.” This time, Clint caught the shorts Bucky threw at him. “Hurry up, I’m not gonna let Cooper eat all the pancakes before I do.”

“I’m stealing one of your pancakes.”

“Fair trade.”

The two men made their way down the stairs to the kitchen. Laura stood at the stove, flipping pancakes expertly into the air. Natasha sat at the table as Lila brushed through her hair. Lucky and Chewie, the farm dog, sat under the table, obviously waiting for scraps.

“Hi, Uncle Clint and Bucky!” Natasha waved eagerly at them. “Now that you’re not super tired can I show you the tooth I lost last week?”

“Of course, kid.” Clint ruffled Lila’s hair as he walked past her. “Heya, Lil.”

“Clint!” she protested. Bucky rolled his eyes at his husband’s antics as he pulled out a chair and sat down across from Natasha. Clint sat down at his right.

“Show them the tooth after breakfast.” Laura stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands off with a towel. “She’s been so excited to show you two; she won’t even let the Tooth Fairy take it. Hopefully, tonight she will.”

Lila snorted. “Yeah, the _Tooth Fairy_ is _totally_ dying to take Natasha’s bloodied tooth.”

“Lila!”

“Sorry, Mom.”

Laura sighed. “Finish brushing your sister’s hair. Then can both of you get the stuff out of the fridge, along with some plates?”

“Oh, we can help-“ Bucky offered, rising from his chair.

“No, no, sit down!” Laura made a shooing motion at him. “Y’all had a long drive from New York. And you’re guests! My children are perfectly capable of helping me.”

“Yeah, Momma!”

Lila nodded, gathering all of Natasha’s long brown hair up into a ponytail.

“Thank you, dears.”

“Momma!” Penelope rushed into the kitchen. “Momma! Cooper won’t get out of bed!” Cecilia and Jackson followed her, cheeks flushed.

“I’ll handle him. Go sit at the table, breakfast is nearly ready.” Laura walked back into the kitchen. The twins grabbed Lila and Natasha’s seats when they got up to follow their mom. Cecilia sat next to Clint. Something clattered and the kitchen sink ran before turning back off. Laura walked back out, holding a large glass of water, and walked up the stairs.

Lila walked out of the kitchen, carrying two bottles of syrup. “Cooper’s in for a rude awakening.” She set them in the middle of the table and walked back into the kitchen.

Bucky frowned. “Is she doing what I think she’s doing?”

Clint cackled. “He’s got it easy. Barney uses ice water.”

“MOM!” a voice yelled from the second floor. Penelope and Jackson giggled.

Cecilia stared at them confusedly. “What did Aunt Laura need the water for?”

“She dumped it on Cooper,” Jackson explained. Cecilia started giggling as well.

Laura walked back down the stairs, holding the now-empty glass. “He’s out of bed now.” The kids started laughing even harder.

Natasha skipped over to the table and set a tub of butter next to the syrup. “Can I go get Daddy from the barn, Momma?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Natasha scampered out of the dining area.

Lila set a jug of orange juice on the table and sat in the empty chair next to Penelope. “Alright, princess. It’s your turn.” She lifted the brush and started to run it through Penelope’s hair.

“I’ll get us some coffee,” Clint decided, standing up from his chair. “I don’t think they sell that creamer you like out here, though.”

“Nah, it’s alright. I’ll take whatever creamer is here.”

“’Kay.” Clint gave Bucky a peck on the cheek and walked into the kitchen.

“Hi, Lucky and Chewie!” Cecilia ducked her head under the table to greet the dogs. Lucky let out a large ‘woof.’

“Cecilia, don’t do that. It’s bad manners,” Bucky chided.

“Sorry, Poppa.”

“And don’t hit your head.”

“Lila, are you done yet?” Penelope whined, trying to tug herself away from Lila’s brush.

“If you would stop squirming, I would be.”

Heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs. Cooper walked into the dining area in gym shorts and a t-shirt, rubbing a towel furiously over his hair. “Oh, man, this smells delicious,” he groaned.

“Now that you’re awake, can you pass out the plates, Cooper?” Laura called from the kitchen. Cooper groaned again, this time in exasperation, but begrudgingly thumped his way into the kitchen.

The front door slammed open. A few moments later, Barney entered the dining area, with Natasha skipping at his side. He took off his visor to wipe at his brow. “Wow. It smells like heaven in here,” he commented.

“Good morning, Daddy!” Jackson and Penelope greeted.

“Good morning to both of you. Willing to give your old man a hug?”

“No way!” Penelope shook her head. “You’re sweaty and icky.”

“Well, that’s rude.”

“She’s right,” Clint added, walking out of the kitchen with two steaming mugs of coffee. He took his previous seat and set down one mug in front of Bucky. “You _are_ pretty sweaty.”

“Thanks.” Bucky closed his eyes and took a sip of the coffee. Creamer and sugar, just how he liked it.

“Look what you’ve done to my kids, Clint. You’ve turned them against me.”

“I haven’t done a single thing to your kids, Barney.”

“Hi, Dad,” Cooper greeted as he walked out with a stack of paper plates and started passing them around the table. “Mom’s bringing the pancakes out in a minute, if you wanna help her.”

“Of course.” Barney tossed his visor up on the counter. Cooper finished passing out the plates and sat down opposite of Cecilia. Natasha took the chair next to Bucky. “Hey, Uncle Bucky, how’s Godmomma doing?”

“Natasha the Elder is doing fine. She, Pepper, and Albert went up to visit Pepper’s family in Ontario.”

“Can she take me with her next time?”

“You’ll have to talk with her and your parents about that.”

“’Kay.”

“Breakfast!” Laura announced, walking out of the kitchen carrying a plate stacked high with pancakes. The kids let out a cheer. Cooper made a move for the plate, but Clint snatched it before he did.

Bucky rolled his eyes. “You’re such a child,” he commented while Clint cackled with glee. “It feels like I’m in charge of both you and Cecilia half of the time.”

“Aww, it’s not that bad.”

“You just took a whole plate of pancakes away from your nephew.”

“He’s not a little kid either. How many pancakes, Cecilia?”

“One, please!” Clint set one pancake on Cecilia’s plate and two on his, before passing the plate down to Cooper.

It didn’t take long for the family to fall into conversation around the table as the food and condiments were passed around. It reminded Bucky of meals at the Tower, where everyone was having their say while keeping two different conversations going, especially after people had started settling down and having kids. It gave Bucky a sense of completion, a sense of being at home.

And he _was_ at home, wasn’t he? Just ten years ago, Bucky had been a man reeling from the shock of being in control for the first time in seventy years, still trying to make sense of who he was and why he was still alive when he should have died a long time ago. If he had told himself all those years ago that it would get better, that he would rebuild his friendship with Steve and forge new ones, that he’d meet a man who made his heart feel like it was flying, that he had a little girl that he would gladly give the moon to if she asked for it, he would have just laughed and passed it off as his therapist’s tricks.

But it was true. Bucky sat here, surrounded by Clint’s family as they all had breakfast together. He got to see the corners of Clint’s eyes crinkle while he laughed at a story Barney told from when they were younger. He got to help Cecilia make a wiggly smiley face on her pancake using the syrup. He got to throw scraps of food under the table for Lucky to gobble up. He got this. He got a home that he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

“You’ve been awfully quiet since breakfast,” Clint said.

Once they had finished eating, Bucky had insisted on helping Laura clear the dishes and washing them. Then Natasha showed him and Clint the tooth she had lost last week, and the dogs needed a walk. On getting back, Bucky and Clint had curled up next to each other on the couch.

“I’ve just been thinking,” Bucky replied. “You know, it’s been ten years since we’ve met.”

“Seriously?”

“You invited me to watch Annabelle and noticed that I had a knife hidden in my boot.”

Clint let out a low whistle. “You’re right. Damn, I can’t believe it’s been that long.”

“Neither can I.”

Clint hummed lazily and pulled Bucky closer to him. “I’ve got to be honest, these past ten years have probably been the best ten years of my life.”

“Mine too. And I’ve been alive for much longer than you have.”

“You old man,” Clint teased, pressing a kiss on the top of Bucky’s head.

“You’re the old man here.”

“Come on, I promised to grow old with you. What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t stick to my promises?”

“A pretty rotten one.” Bucky placed a kiss on Clint’s cheek.

“I showed you a horror movie the first time we met. I think that should’ve told you what kind of husband I would be.”

“I still would’ve married you no matter what movie you had shown me that day.”

“Seriously?”

Bucky took Clint’s chin and pulled his face down so he could look at him right in the eye. “Clint, I’m serious. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wouldn’t trade the last ten years for anything else in the world, even if it meant never falling off that train into the clutches of HYDRA. Because then I may have never had Lucky, or Kate, or Peter, or Barney and the rest of the Barton brood, or Natasha, or Cecilia…or you.”

“Even though I hurt you every time we had a fight?” Clint asked.

“You hurt me, but I hurt you too. And I’m so sorry for everything I said or did in the past that hurt you, physically, emotionally, or otherwise, and I’ll always be trying to make up for them. But I wouldn’t give up any of that if it meant I could never meet you. I love you way too fucking much to give you up.”

“God, Bucky, I love you too. And I don’t mean to parrot everything you just said, but you know how bad I am with words, and I think you captured it perfectly. I wouldn’t give up the past ten years either. I don’t think I could live with myself if I gave you up. You mean the world to me.”

Bucky let go of Clint’s chin and leaned up to give him a passionate kiss on the lips. Words honestly couldn’t describe just how much love he had for this beautiful man who had been there when he felt like he was falling and pulled him back from the ledge, and had helped to create some of the best memories he had ever had. He’d never change anything. Not a single one of his flaws or one of Clint’s.

Clint moaned into the kiss, stirring something deep inside of Bucky’s stomach. When they broke apart for air, Clint’s pupils were blown wide with passion. “Oh, it’s been _way_ too long since the last time we did this.”

“We are not fucking on your brother’s couch.”

“What about upstairs?”

“Sure.”

Bucky leaned in to give Clint another kiss.

“Uncle Buck! Uncle Clint!”

The two men pulled apart at the sound of their names. Penelope and Cecilia rushed into the living room, carrying a huge bucket full of water.

“Hey, hey. Did Laura or Barney say you can bring that into the living room?” Clint asked.

Penelope ignored him. “You need to see it! Cece knows a super duper cool trick!”

Cecilia blushed. “It’s not that cool, Penny.”

“C’mon, show it! Show it!”

Cecilia bit her lip, but nodded. They set the bucket of water on the ground, and Cecilia stuck her hands out over it, forehead crinkling in concentration.

“Are you guys watching Avatar: The Last Airbender again? Because I don’t know if-“

Clint stopped midsentence as the bucket began to shake. Bucky lurched forward, ready to grab it in case it fell over, since it seemed like that was about to happen-

He froze as the water began to _rise out of the bucket in a huge sphere of water holy fucking shit_. Penelope cheered and clapped her hands as Cecilia grinned in triumph. “See that? It’s such a cool trick! Can I learn how to do it too?”

Bucky and Clint didn’t say a word as Cecilia slowly lowered the water back into the bucket. “Sweetheart,” Clint said in a strained voice, “how long have you been able to do that?”

Cecilia tilted her head. “I did it before, but only in little pieces. That’s the most water I’ve ever lifted.”

“Have you been able to do that since before we found you?” Bucky asked.

Cecilia nodded.

“Dear God.” Clint leaned back on the couch, running a hand through his hair. Bucky whistled and rubbed at his temples.

It looked like they had another long ten years ahead of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> I’m TJ, and I plan on writing more Marvel stuff in the future. I currently have a Winterhawk soulmate AU up, and I’m definitely gonna make more fics about this ship. I also have fics for other fandoms, like Homestuck and Percy Jackson. But don’t expect them to be as long as this one. This is the longest one-shot I have written by far.  
> I did include male-to-female Natasha (formerly Nathaniel) Barton in this, based on a really cute post I saw a while back. Natasha is the best godmother ever to her goddaughter fight me  
> I might make another fic set in this timeline to fill in the gaps, like how Clint and Bucky got together or the events before the AIM soldiers attacked the park. I don’t know if I’ll keep it in Bucky’s POV, or if I’ll do both Clint and Bucky or other characters. Maybe I should write a companion fic where the events in this happen in Clint’s POV  
> I really am sorry if I wrote anyone too OOC. This is only my second Marvel fic, and I’m a newer fan. I hope to improve my skills! If you have any constructive criticism for me, please let me know!  
> You can find me on Tumblr at gaydrienagreste. I also have more writing up at TailsDoll13 on FanFiction and WattPad.  
> If you enjoyed this, feel free to leave kudos, comments, or a bookmark! Thank you!  
> Also Bucky and Steve totally have matching Beyoncé shirts fight me


End file.
